Pidgeon Lake
by goldenpapillon
Summary: The Kingdom of Altea faces imminent danger from the Galra invasions, while Altean citizen Katie Holt has her own troubles. While on her mission to rescue her family, she falls victim to one of Zarkon's curses and perhaps makes friends and even finds love along the way: Swan Lake AU
1. Chapter 1

"M-mom? You're crushing me..." Katie wheezed

"Oh! Sorry, dear! I'm just going to miss you so much" the woman said, pulling back to look at her daughter. "I can't believe my little girl is going away for so long" a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Mom..."

"I know, I know... you're not a little girl anymore". She brushed some stray hair behind Katie's ear, then brought her hand to cup her cheek.

Katie closed her eyes and leaned into the warmth of her mother's gentle touch. She allowed herself a minute of vulnerability– after all, she had no clue when she'd get another chance to.

Much too soon, a humble horse-drawn carriage pulled up in front of the Holt family's cottage. The two glanced through the front window.

"Looks like your ride is here" Mrs. Holt reached to hold her daughter's hands before they could gather her small case of luggage. Gazing into the girl's now-watery eyes, she said, "Promise me you'll take care of yourself, Katie-Kat"– the silent plea: _please, I can't lose you too._

"I will. I promise. You don't need to worry about me". Giving her mother's hands one last reassuring squeeze, Katie promptly grabbed her things and headed out the door. Before entering the carriage, her thoughts were interrupted by a _yip_ from her small dog.

She bent down and scratched him behind the ears. "Take care of mom, Rover". The pooch tilted its head to the side. "I'll be back. I'll bring them home".

Katie boarded the carriage, glancing back once more– her mother waving from the front door of the home she grew up in, with Rover at the woman's feet.

"I'm ready".

The carriage driver flicked the reins, and they were off.

Keith ran up to Shiro, poking him in the stomach.

"TAG! You're it!" he giggled.

"Tag? I thought we were playing frisbee?" Shiro laughed along with the 9 year-old.

"It's both! Frisbee-tag!" at that, Keith ran, clutching the toy to his body.

Shiro followed. "Well, Keith, I'm afraid to say you're looking at the champion of frisbee-tag" he played along (of course neither of them had actually played it before; Keith made it up on the spot).

Keith made a bad turn, now cornered by his big brother. "Catch!" The frisbee flew through the air.

Shiro watched it for a second before racing after it, giving the boy a chance to run away.

"I've got it now, you little booger!" said Shiro, holding the toy up triumphantly. He threw the frisbee toward Keith, but accidentally aimed too high. It ended up nestled in the branches of a tree, out of reach.

"Aww" Keith said, visibly deflating from disappointment.

Shiro ruffled his brother's hair. "I'll get it, bud". He scaled the tree, working his way to the frisbee. Slowly but surely, Shiro grabbed it and began climbing down. All the while, Keith stood and looked up owlishly at his brother. Shiro chuckled and leaned back on a branch until he hung upside down by his knees. Keith gave him a toothy grin, which Shiro returned without hesitation. Then...

"Tag" Shiro poked Keith's tummy (he knew this was one of his ticklish spots) and quickly climbed back up, out of the smaller boy's reach.

After giggling, Keith tried to glare and said, "That's against the rules!".

"What rules?" Shiro laughed.

"I make 'em up as I go" he said, crossing his arms.

"Ah". Shiro made a show of rolling his eyes, a smile still tugging at his lips.

A sudden, "ah-hem" made the two jump, Shiro almost falling out of the tree. They stopped their banter to see Coran, the royal advisor, with brows furrowed and foot impatiently tapping.

"If you were not already aware, the princes' presence was expected in the banquet hall... 15 minutes ago".

The two princes' eyes grew wide. They shared a look before rushing in unison to Coran's side.

"My apologies. It was _my_ lapse of memory that-"

"-Save it" Coran snapped, "Besides, it's not me you have to apologize to".

*  
Although late already by a quarter of an hour, the boy's had to make themselves 'presentable' before Coran would even consider letting them out into the view of guests.

They were no longer in casual attire, but dressed fittingly to their royal titles, for today was the much-anticipated dinner with an esteemed ambassador of the Erusian Empire– a strong possible ally in the fight against the Galra Kingdom.

The boys looked at Coran questioningly. "Fine- you look fine. Now for the sake of diplomacy, GO!" he whisper-shouted.

The princes entered the banquet hall through the oaken double doors. The Erusian they assumed to be the ambassador quirked an eyebrow, while their parents, the king and queen of Altea, looked relieved to see them arrive, but their expressions soon took on the form of anxiety and anger. The brothers shared a look: _we're so going to get it once this over._

Shiro, being the eldest of the two, took control of the situation. "Good sir, I offer you my most humble of apologies for our absence and lack of proper hospitality. We ask your forgiveness, so we can all sit down together finally to enjoy this meal".

Keith wondered if his older brother could get them into their parents' better graces with some spiel like that. Noticing Shiro had bowed his head in respect, Keith quickly did the same. You see, being only 9, he had many things on his mind– and propriety didn't tend to be one of them. So he usually just copied his brother.

The Erusian smiled, "Forgiveness is granted, your highnesses. It would be my pleasure to carry on with our meeting".

With these merciful words, the tension in the room dissipated and all internally sighed in relief.

*  
Thankfully, the dinner went well: the Kingdom of Altea had gained a new ally. The king and queen were certainly pleased with the diplomatic relations, but they weren't just monarchs; they were parents.

Shiro got the most scolding, given he was expected to me more responsible. "Takashi Shirogane, do you realize how much was as stake!?" the queen said.

"But nothing bad happened!" Keith defended.

"And for that we are beyond lucky, but it's not going to be like that every time. You need to start taking your positions seriously! I expect more from you– both of you".

"I'm sorry" Shiro said.

Keith looked down at the ground, suddenly finding his foot very interesting. "Me too. I'm sorry".

"I-", the king pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, "Just go to your rooms".

"Thanks". Katie handed the driver some coins after stepping out of the carriage.

The man smiled. "No problem, miss" he nodded warmly and drove off.

Katie took a deep breath and gazed almost longingly at the building in front of her: Madame Valentine's Finishing School. Don't get the wrong idea, she would much rather be working on her inventions and gadgets than be 'molded into a proper young lady' as the motto promised.

But this wasn't where she was going, Katie knew, which was beyond anyone else's knowledge. No, while her mother and the others left behind thought she would be walking with books on her head at charm school, Katie would actually be posing as a new recruit of the royal guard. The headquarters, near the school– conveniently for Katie, a 20 minute walk away, would be her lodgings for the next year.

There, she would have access to files on MIA soldiers– particularly those regarding her father and brother. Katie knew they would never ditch their men and refused to think they weren't alive. They worked mainly as scientists, improving the technology for their defense lines. The two would be considered valuable for their expertise on any side. When a man came to the Holt's door, he told Katie and her mother that Samuel and Matthew Holt had gone missing during the most recent invasion. It was believed they had deserted Altea to join the Galra– they _were_ the winning group, currently. But Katie refused to believe that. She knew her family. And from that point on, she devoted herself to getting them back. Everyone else refused to look into the case, despite Katie's endless pestering, begging, and yelling. Even her mother became hopeless, while Katie never stopped.

Colette worried for her daughter. Katie pulled far too many all-nighters, skipped meals, pushed her friends away– all for something she considered a hopeless cause. Neither lost faith in their family's morals, but as much as she hated to admit it to herself, Colette thought they were dead. That they could never come back. That Katie would just end up getting her heart broken all over again when she found the truth.

With all the time Katie spent on her mission, she really never took any for herself. Her books and tech projects were left untouched and coated with a blanket of dust. She hadn't had a real conversation with Hunk or Lance for months. Her friends worried about her too. When they tried to get her out of the house, offered comfort and love, she declined and pushed them away. It wasn't meant to hurt them. She just couldn't afford any distractions. So when she asked her mother if she could attend a finishing school in the city, how could Colette say no? Her daughter was finally moving on with her life, wanted to make something of herself.

Of course she had no clue what the real plan was. Katie felt guilty for lying, of course, especially to her mother, but she tried not to think about it as she made the trek to her true destination.

But first, a pit stop. She still had to change. This area of the city was comprised mostly of market booths, which meant no building with a bathroom. Katie was glad to come across a pub on her way there though. _The Bloody Knuckle._ Okay then... must attract an interesting crowd, she thought. And indeed she was correct. Making her way in, she smelled the customers before she saw them. Actually, the whole place reeked of hard liquor, smoke, and B.O. How lovely. After getting over the initial shock of the odor slapping her straight in the face, Katie got a real look inside. She wasn't surprised to see that most were big greasy, drunk dudes, some bearing tattoos and piercings, an eye patch here and there. Basically in one word: intimidating. The smallest man in there could probably squash her like a bug.

She jumped at a whistle, followed by a catcall. _Flip 'em off_ said subconscious Katie. And she was very, very tempted to, but her logical side won out (per usual) and decided not to cause trouble– especially not here. Something told her that none of these people would hesitate to get in a bar fight. These guys weren't Jack Vinsky on the playground in fifth grade. Punch one of them in the face, and she wouldn't live to see another day. _Jack just ran off and cried like a baby. Never pulled my hair again though._ Katie snickered at the thought.

Luckily, a restroom was to be found in the back. And even luckier, it wasn't labeled 'men's' or 'women's'. Either one of those would be suspicious for either entering or exiting depending on which she chose. Of course seeing a girl go into a bathroom only for a boy with a striking resemblance come out wasn't too discreet either. She thought this was a bit better than changing in an alleyway though.

After entering, Katie firmly closed the door and double-checked the lock before she began. First of all: hair. She had been growing hers out for years, and it lay all the way down to her hips. But this hair belonged to Katie. And when she came out of this bathroom, she would be Katie no longer. She would be Pidge Gunderson, at least until she brought her family home. She opened her bag, bringing out a sharp pair of sewing scissors.

 _Here goes nothing._

She squeezed her eyes shut. _Snip._ A weight was taken off her head, and when she looked down, there lay a long lock of honey-brown hair. She continued until the tips barely ticked her neck. The style looked a lot like Matt's. Well, she looked a lot like Matt, in general. They _were_ brother and sister, after all.

Next: clothing. No one would believe she was a boy if she wore a frilly day dress. First, she wrapped her chest. Sure, she was never very curvy. Honestly, she did kind of look like a little boy in that aspect. But in tight clothing, it would show.

She then peeled off her dress and petticoat, promptly shoving the items in her bag. Her shoes were already androgynous: lace-up boots made of supple brown leather, so she decided to wear them with her disguise. Before leaving home, she had snuck some of her brother's old clothes into her carry-on. They were before Matt's growth spurt, so they fit pretty well, only a little roomy and a bit long on her petite frame. She had taken simple tunics, leggings, and trousers, and some of Matt's night clothes. Once changed, she took a look in the mirror. She imagined how she used to look and absentmindedly ran her fingers through her significantly shorter hair. With a shake of her head, she cleared her mind and threw away her old image. _Hello, Pidge... I'll see you later, Katie._ With that, Pidge scooped her locks of hair off the floor.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by violent bangs on the door's other side, which were followed by a low growl.  
"Hurry it up! I gotta piss, dammit!"

"Just a second" Pidge squeaked. She looked down at the hair in her hands. _Shit_. What was she supposed to do with it?

"Don't make me break down this door and throw you out!"

And with that, Pidge quickly shoved the hair into her bag, a bit still sticking out, when she slammed open the door and ran. Well, she was going to run. But before that, the door collided with a large body. Pidge skidded to a stupefied halt, while he howled in pain.

"What the hell?!"

"Sorry! I…um… I had diarrhea! Yeah, ya know, you guys get bloody knuckles, I get bloody diarrhea!" Pidge stuttered. _Smooth, real smooth._

The man's angry face slowly contorted into one of disgust. "…Get outta here, kid. You ain't worth my time". With that, he left to do his business.

And Pidge did _not_ hesitate to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

Pidge walked down the street, glaring at her feet _. Seriously?! Bloody diarrhea?!_ Pidge mentally scolded herself. She couldn't believe she actually said that. Oh wait. Yes, she could. Because she was socially awkward as heck. Before she could get too far sucked into the black hole of remembering embarrassing things she did three years ago, she shook her head and tried to focus on something else.

While glancing up, a view of a castle in the distance caught her eye. The royal guards' quarters should be near. She smiled and now walked with renewed vigor, not bothering to fight back the childish skip in her step, practically running now.

Pidge saw the palace's towers growing bigger and bigger. She skidded to a halt and gazed up at them with awe. Never had Pidge been to the city to see it herself, but she had gotten descriptions from Hunk's travels, which did not do the castle justice. It was large with many elaborate tiers and balconies, the Altean flag waving atop a few of the turrets. The stones it was crafted from took on a light purple hue. Somehow it managed to look both regal and inviting. Statues of lions seemed to guard the entrance, while the many windows let in sunshine, and the flowers of the beautiful front garden beamed at all who saw them.

Pidge reluctantly tore her eyes away from the magnificence before her to skim the area for the guards' quarters. To the castle's left side, she viewed a smaller building, with an emblem of the Altean flag with two swords across it engraved onto its side. That had to be the place, for a line of maybe ten other boys around her age– seventeen, stood in line by the door. She stepped in to the back of the line and waited with the rest.

At precisely noon, a man in a guard uniform, obviously high-ranking given the many pins and badges he wore, came out the door. He cleared his throat 'ah-hem' and all stood at attention. Pidge did not exactly understand this cue, however, and scrambled to copy the others. The man seemed not to notice her though, his attention busy with glaring at each person as he slowly walked down the line. He got each boy's name and age, scribbling it down on his clipboard. Every now and then, he would nudge a boy's arm into better form. All too soon, he came by Pidge.

"Pidge Gunderson. Eighteen"

The male narrowed his eyes and whispered "You've got a lot of nerve coming here and lying to me, kid". Pidge was really getting sick of being called that.

"I-I, umm-"

"-No way you're eighteen. A string-bean like you?" he snorted.

"I'm small for my age"

He eyed her warily and took a few seconds to make a decision. As much as he hated admitting to himself, a good royal guard wasn't all muscle… you needed nimbleness, dexterity. _A lithe thing like him could come in handy._ He shifted his eyes to her left-handed salute. "Wrong arm, Gunderson".

"Hello, Mrs. Holt" Hunk greeted with a warm smile as the front door opened. After all, the woman had been like a second mother to him since kindergarten when he and Lance first met Katie. They were an unbreakable team, the 'Three Musketeers'. They had been through thick and thin, seen each other in their awkward phases– a very tight-knit group. That is, until Katie lost her father and brother. From then on, Hunk and Lance saw less and less of her. They tried to help, but soon learned it's hard to give help to someone who doesn't want it.

"Why, hello, Hunk! I'm happy to see you finally, but umm… you know Katie isn't home, right?" said Collette, dropping her gaze to the floor as her eyes became watery.

"She sent letters to Lance and I about her acceptance into a boarding school. Madame… Valentine's, is it?"

Mrs. Holt simply nodded.

Hunk put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But I'm actually here to see you. Lance would have come, but he had last-minute sibling-sitting duty".

Mrs. Holt looked into the boy's eyes and smiled, a tear running down her cheek. Partially from prior loneliness and worry, and now partially because the boy she saw as a son would care so much. "Well, you know you're always welcome here. Come on in" she said, moving out of Hunk's way.

The boy obliged and found a seat on the Holt's couch. His favorite spot, actually. That cushion was a bit sunken in from use, but Hunk liked to refer to it as 'well-loved'. He and the woman made light conversation as she made tea for the both of them. Hunk had said, like many times before, that she didn't need to, but she, like many times before, insisted upon it. Mrs. Holt was asking Hunk about his job– he worked as a general handy man, his specialty being mechanics– when Hunk saw a _perfect opportunity_.

"Oh, it's great! I was just working on Ms. Miller's stove actually. I lost my larger wrench, though, which kind of made it a pain, but it all worked out".

"You know, I think Katie may have one of those you could use. I doubt she would mind if you borrowed it for a while".

Hunk lit up like the idea hadn't even crossed his mind. He was always a good liar, which in turn, made him a good actor. He actually worried sometimes about his skill, for he knew it was wrong. Actually, his kind nature helped to make him an even better at these sort of things. Well, the image of innocence did, at least. But sometimes, even a 'ray of sunshine', as Lance would call him, needed to do what he had to in order to help his friends. "You don't think she'd mind?"

"Of course not. Go ahead. Pretty sure she still stores them in her room".

Hunk smiled warmly, radiating a sense of gratitude. "Thank you, Mrs. Holt". He casually walked out of the parlor and made his way to Katie's room. He wasn't surprised to find it covered in dust, but the sight still stung his heart a bit. Sighing, he got himself focused. _If I was Katie's diary, where would I be?_ he thought as he skimmed the room.

After a few minutes, he started to lose hope. _What if she brought it with her?!_ Hunk paced the room. He needed that thing. It was the best chance of a lead he had. _Certainly she wouldn't bring it along if she were out doing something dangerous, though? And for Heaven's sake, I know she wouldn't go to a finishing school if she had any say in the matter! There has to be something going on! I can feel it! My gut hasn't been wrong yet, and it's-_ Hunk looked down to see that he had stepped in a dirty pile of socks. His toe nudged something harder underneath though…

He dug through the heap of discarded laundry until there it was… a little green book tied together with a matching green ribbon.

Hunk felt guilty invading his friend's privacy like this, but again: a ray of sunshine's gotta do what a ray of sunshine's gotta do. He quickly unraveled the bow ribbon and flicked through the pages until he reached the most recent entry. His eyes couldn't read the information fast enough as Hunk scarfed down every single word.

…

…

…

The book fell from the boy's hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Hunk forgot completely about the wrench and raced to the Holt's front door, spitting out a quick absentminded goodbye before running as fast as he could to the McClain residence.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith glared at the palace's garden walls, hoping that his eyes might shoot laser beams to slice through if he tried hard enough (or something cool like that). He had lots of room to play, sure, but it wasn't the same now. He remembered when he was still allowed to go outside. And as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. He wasn't allowed to go outside anymore, so that just made him want to even more. Keith bit his lip as an idea formed in his head. Glancing back at Shiro, whose attention seemed to be fully engulfed by his novel, Keith saw a great opportunity to feel a little freedom. He began scaling the tall garden wall. Near the top, the boy attempted to hoist himself over it, but his foot slipped. He skidded a bit and clung to the wall, thankfully, alright. But that wasn't what he was worried about now. Nope, his main concern was the big brother who had obviously heard his ruckus. The two made brief eye contact, before leaping into action.

"Keith! Stop!"

Said boy scrambled over the wall and hang-dropped as fast as he could. He saw Shiro begin climbing in pursuit of him, so he ran. He hadn't intended to venture far from the wall or stay outside long, but the guarantee of getting in trouble if caught urged him to move, igniting a fire in his veins and pumping adrenaline.

Shiro kept shouting Keith's name. Despite his longer legs and superior muscle, the eldest would get close, maybe a yard away, but Keith remained ahead of him.

Keith risked a look over his shoulder, perhaps for a bit too long, because he then collided with something, which toppled over along with him. Shiro's feet screeched to a halt, only for the rest of his body to keep going, making him join the pile. Sort of like dominos.

Shiro got off of Keith, and Keith did likewise. Now standing, he saw he hadn't just collided with 'something'… He ran over perhaps one of the scariest people he'd ever met: Iverson, captain of the royal guard. Just his luck.

Iverson brought himself to his feet, while muttering curses under his breath. He glared at the two of the before wordlessly grabbing the them by the arms, his grip tight to the point that it might leave bruises. Keith tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but Shiro walked without resisting, a forlorn sigh escaping his lips.

Iverson pulled the two princes all the way to the king's study, where they saw both of their parents.

"What in the world-" the queen began.

"-Caught these kids running away" Iverson huffed, finally releasing the boys.

"I-I just wanted to-" Keith's voice shook, and he broke into tears before he could finish. Shiro was angry, of course. Keith knew they weren't allowed out, especially when the guards weren't there. Assuming the seven-foot wall was more than enough to keep them safe, the boys had been permitted to roam the enclosed gardens freely, without anyone watching over them. It was their place, the place they could forget their responsibilities and just have fun. And Keith had ruined it. No chance they would be allowed to play anymore. Keith knew the possible consequences. A million times they were reminded of the dangers Altea now faced. Imagine what would happen if the Galra got hold of a crowned prince…

But if there was one person Shiro could never stay mad at, it was Keith. He comfortingly wrapped an arm around the small boy's shoulders, which raked with sobs. He slowly pulled him into a hug. The small boy fisted Shiro's shirt and buried his face in it.

Meanwhile, Captain Iverson recited his own story to the king and queen. Once they had heard enough, the man was politely asked to give the family privacy.

The room was silent, the only noise being the slight slam of the door (Iverson always slammed the door, no matter his mood- which tended to be cranky anyway-, the place, or who he was around). The king slowly opened and closed his mouth, not sure what to say.

Finally, "What were you thinking?" he said in a hoarse whisper.

By this time, Keith's sobs had quieted into sniffles, and he peeked out from Shiro's tunic. He wasn't going to let his brother take the blame for this.

"It's my fault. I wanted to go outside. H-he tried to stop me, and I didn't listen".

The two parents gave them disappointed looks. "You could have gotten hurt… or worse," the King sighed. "You know, I really want to trust you two. I do… But you're making it pretty hard".

* * *

Hunk hurdled into Lance's home the moment the door was opened for him. Lance stood before him, with a toddler on his hip and an arched eyebrow. The 'Ray of Sunshine' rested his hands on his knees and took a minute to catch his breath. Running really wasn't his forte.

"Hey, Hunk… Wasn't expecting-" a large crash from another room sounded and Lance craned neck back to yell, "-I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT, GERAD!".

He turned back to Hunk with a smile on his face, although he was a bit confused. "So what's up, my man?" he asked.

Hunk wheezed (or maybe hyperventilated), "Katie, city, plan, diary, wrench, need to help".

"In English, please?"

"Katie. She isn't where we think she is. She's posing as a guy. Joining royal guard. To save her family. Dangerous. We gotta help her".

Lance's eyes grew wide as he processed Hunk's words. Ah, and there came the signature shit-eating Lance grin. "Let's see if Allura's free to babysit these seven hellions, 'cause this babysitter has got butt to kick!".

* * *

"So, here's the plan: We go in dressed as potato-salesmen, stuff Katie in a potato sack and go home. Got it?"

"Lance, we are NOT doing that".

The two boys rode side-by-side on horseback, the hooves of the horses making little dust storms out of the dirt road whenever they took a step. The sun began to go down. They had only started on the journey half an hour ago, but Hunk's nerves still hadn't calmed in the least. In fact, they were getting wore the closer they got. Hunk sighed and voiced his concerns to his friend:

"I really don't know what to do when we find her though. She won't just give up and come back home with us. And no, we cannot take her against her will", Hunk pointedly glared at Lance. His eyes softened. "But l guess all we really can do is try to help her find them. Just… what if she's wrong? What if it turns out that they really are gone? She'll be crushed".

Lance took a minute to think. "What does your gut say?"

"Huh?"

"Your gut. Listen to it through the 'what if' thoughts. Are they alive?"

"Lance, don't be ridicu-"

"Hunk."

The larger boy looked away. Lance thought he chose to ignore the question.

…

…

…

"… Yeah. Yeah, they are".


	4. Chapter 4

Iverson, to Pidge's dismay, really, really enjoyed torturing new recruits. She had hoped that as a guard member, she would get easy access to their documents, but since day one, the captain had been working them like dogs. Most of the training exercises were regular drills: running laps, learning the hand signals guards would use to communicate during a fight, weapon-training. But sometimes, he even had them do bizarre, unrelated tasks like clean his laundry, claiming it 'built endurance'. 'To what? Noxious gas?' Pidge had thought. Either she was busy with Iverson's inescapable workload or she was too tired to even think straight.

Most nights, she fell asleep the instant her head hit her pillow. And that said a lot, because the guards' quarters weren't quite as lavish as one would hope for. Pidge swore the beds had to be made of corncobs, but she and the others never let that stop them from sleep.

Honestly, that part of all this- like, actually sleeping- was a whole new concept. Pidge had always been a night-owl, always kept up by her racing thoughts and ideas.

Pidge had made a few acquaintances over the past few days, in particular, her bunkmate Lotor. He was a bit rough around the edges, but was generally nice to her. He even let her have the top bunk. They mostly talked about light topics. Pidge was thankful he didn't ask much about what life was like back home, unlike some of the others. They didn't mean anything by it, of course, just friendly conversation, but it was still a more sensitive topic. And in return, Pidge didn't ask him about his.

The number one topic of conversation though was complaining about Iverson. Indeed, misery does love company.

"You got stuck with the socks, huh? Well, I had to wash his underwear!" Pidge whined. At this, Lotor chuckled, something she hadn't heard before. Usually, it was just a small snort or an absentminded hum.

Lotor had figured it out the day he first saw her. She bore a striking resemblance to the little Altean boy and the father. Lotor had been personally responsible for finding ways to force them into making new weapons and such for the Galra Kingdom. He soon learned that they wouldn't give anything away if it just threatened themselves. Torture didn't work. Neither could he threaten to hurt one to make the other work. They were smart. They knew Zarkon needed both of them. The two worked as a team when inventing. Take one away, and not only would they no longer have leverage, they would no longer have the efficiency either.

Did the girl really think a little haircut could fool anybody? Maybe it did everyone else, but he knew her when he saw her. She was the girl in the boy's picture:

The little lab rat had kept it in his pocket hidden for weeks before Lotor even knew about it. When he saw the Altean in his cell, cradling something to his chest, while his other arm hugged his knees, he swiped it out of the boy's hands. The kid snapped and jumped to his feet, trying to wrestle the thing out of Lotor's hold. Five minutes later, the boy was secured behind the cell door, with a bloody nose, still shaking the bars and screaming "Give it back! You sick bastard!" among other names.

Lotor smiled at his futile attempts, while he leisurely examined the photo.

"Pretty girl. Sister?" he glanced tauntingly at the boy.

…

…

…

"Lotor?" the girl waved her hand in front of his face.

He jumped. "Huh?"

"Didn't you hear? Iverson wants all of us in the mess hall. 'Important news'".

"Are we there yet?" Lance groaned, slumping forward on his horse.

"Only fifteen seconds closer than the last time you asked" Hunk said, rolling his eyes at his friend. Lance certainly was a caring older brother (oldest of a family with eight children), but sometimes, Hunk thought he got along so well with them because he was a kid himself.

"How much longer?"

"I don't know, Lance. Stop asking". Hunk had been to the city a couple times before to get supplies for his job, but having been lost in thought for practically the whole way, time swooped over his head.

"But I'm hunnnggggggrrrryyyyy" he said, dramatically clawing at his belly.

Hunk smiled. "You know, I think I did pack some peanut butter cookies… but they were meant for Katie".

"Hunk, my man, my buddy, you don't want me to starve, do you?"

"Hmm I'll need some time to think about it", but while Hunk said that, he was simultaneously fishing through his bag for the cookie container. Of course, Hunk had packed a lot of cookies. Mostly, because he knew Lance would complain.

The boys continued following the path, nibbling (or in Lance's case, devouring) cookies along the way. The sun had set about an hour ago, first starting when they began their journey. The part of the path they were currently on was framed with underbrush, no trees, so the light from the moon and stars still lit their path. Still, Hunk was a bit worried about traveling at night- he'd heard all about highwaymen and roadside robbers. What if Katie got mixed up with them? What if she never made it into the city? What if-

"Hunk! Look!".

Said boy followed Lance's pointed finger to the city downhill that was out of sight but a few moments ago.

Hunk's face broke into an energetic smile, along with Lance's.

The latter boy's face took on a more crooked smile, and he looked over to Hunk.

"Hunk?"

"Yes, Lance?"

"Are we there yet?".

"I wonder what this is all about" Pidge asked.

"I don't know" Lotor snapped harshly. At this, she looked a bit hurt and walked ahead to give him some space.

There was that weird twinge again. She was making this really hard. Something about her made his stomach all fluttery, and she was constantly on his mind. How could he hold her family captive without a little guilt? It'd be a lot easier if she'd just never gotten involved. She could have stayed at home, married, and settled down happily all under the Galra Kingdom's rule. His eyebrow twitched at the thought of her getting married to someone else. He commanded himself to stop thinking like that. It wouldn't even bother him if he had never met her. 'What is more important?' he scolded himself, 'your kingdom or some silly Altean girl?'.

Before he knew it, he found himself seated in the mess hall with the others, near Pidge, yes, but not next to her like they sat before at mealtimes. She was talking to one of the other recruits, which further added to the fire burning inside him.

"Ah-hem", Captain Dork-wad cleared his throat.

Lotor fought the urge to roll his eyes. He may be a spy taking on the persona of an Altean citizen, but that didn't mean his loathing for Iverson wasn't as real and passionate as the others. Anyone would hate the guy after being forced to handle the man's dirty laundry.

"Due to recent events, you will not be training full-time", Iverson continued. Lotor assumed the 'recent events' were referring to what Nyma told him about the princes going on the loose. Fools. "Our king has ordered more guards to be on duty, and that we shall give him, but our experienced guards are spread a bit thin for our liking. Thus, you recruits will both train and take on shifts a bit earlier than we expected. The new schedule and each member's station is listed there,". Iverson pointed to a piece of paper nailed to the wall. "Are we clear?"

'Yes, sir!'s were said, and once Iverson took leave, all rushed to look at the paper, excited to finally do something other than laundry.

Lotor met Nyma at their usual place, which was a small hike away from the castle. They met every night to trade information. Nyma worked as a maid/server in the castle, and thus, could easily listen in on conversations that might have information that would be useful to the Galra Kingdom. Lotor was also a spy, but his job was to gain military secrets and such.

"Your highness", she bowed.

"Save the formalities, Nyma; we have things to discuss".

She suddenly dropped the whole act and chuckled darkly, leaning nonchalantly against a tree with arms crossed. "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed? 'Cause someone's grumpy".

"It's nothing."

She hummed in a way that indicated she didn't believe him, and then said, "Well then, what are these 'things to discuss'? If you're so eager to talk business, shoot".

"Haven't really found anything worth noting, except that we 'newbies' will start working earlier than expected".

"That's it?" Nyma raised an eyebrow.

He ignored the question. "So, have you initiated the plan yet?"

"Actually, yes. Put some in his morning tea" Nyma said, smugly, dangling a bottle of slow-acting poison in the air for show. "One dose a day, and our precious king will be dead in a matter of weeks".

Lotor nodded. He began to walk off, but before he knew what he was doing, he turned around and said, "Nyma?"

"You beckoned me, your highness?" she replied sarcastically.

"You know the two lab rats back home?". In response, she raised an eyebrow, a silent way of urging him on. "Well, I found the old guy's daughter. His son's little sister." Lotor didn't know what else to say. Why was he even telling her this?

"Hmm" she paused in thought. "We could use her as a threat. You know, work or the girl's dead".

"No!" he replied too quickly.

Nyma eyed him suspiciously before instantly bursting into laughter. Lotor was dumbfounded and stood still as a statue until she caught her breath and wheezed out, "The prince has a lil crush on an Altean", sounding like she was talking to a toddler.

"I do not!"

"What do you call it, then? An infatuation?"

Lotor's cheeks grew red, and he was lucky to have the dark of night to hide his blush. "As future king of the Galra Kingdom, I command you to stop."

Of course, Nyma didn't take the order too seriously, but she did quiet down a bit. "Your wish is my command" she deadpanned. "So what do you want me to do about it, lover-boy?"

"I-I…umm-"

Nyma examined her nails and casually said, "You know, to use her, we don't have to actually hurt her. Just keep her in your palace.

Lotor thought for a minute. He didn't want her to hate him or take away her freedom, but on the other hand…

"I'll think about it".


	5. Chapter 5

Late at night, Lotor stood in the usual meeting place. He glanced at his watch, which he couldn't see due to the lack of light.

"Sorry for my timing". He looked over to the voice's origin, where he saw Nyma standing, her face gently caressed in the shadow of night. She seemed to be panting. Must have ran here.

Lotor didn't bother to respond, just waiting for her to say more. She caught her breath and then said, "I was talking to Sendak. Says he wants us to wrap this all up by the end of the month, so we can be of more use in our own territory".

Lotor hummed in acknowledgement, thinking about what he'd have to leave behind… or perhaps, take with him.

At dawn, Lance and Hunk stood gaping at the palace grounds mere meters away.

"So, umm, we're here? How are we going to find Katie, again?" Lance asked, tilting his head.

"Well, the royal guard building thing is on the same plot of land as the castle, and I assume that's it" Hunk said, pointing out the quarters with his chin. "And we can't really just go and ask if we can see Katherine Holt, I mean she's gotta be going by a fake name. Also, we can't sneak around the place until we spot her, probably the surest way to end up in prison, so I guess all we really can do is try to get jobs as guards and go from there?"

"Works for me" Lance shrugged his shoulders and then got excited. He grabbed Hunk's arm and pulled on it like a child. "C'mon!".

Pidge woke to Iverson yelling at the 'lazy maggots' to get up like she had for the past week. 5:00 am. Every. Single. Morning. She yawned and stretched in her bed. She heard a chuckle to her left and turned to see Lotor's face right next to her. Dang it, even on the top bunk she felt short just because he had to be so tall. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, given that Mother Nature was a cruel bitch to her in the height department, but it had been forgotten for a while.

"You yawn like a kitten" he noted.

That made Pidge even more uncomfortable, so she did the most rational thing anyone would do in the situation: threw her pillow at his face. Not playfully. She threw it hard. Being just a pillow, it didn't injure him. I mean, she wasn't trying to, but that might have helped her comfort levels.

Unfortunately, the action just amused Lotor even more: he laughed again. Before he could do anything else, she jumped out of bed and grabbed her uniform, which was issued out among the others the night before in preparation for their first round of guarding duties. They were just supposed to wear them during the whole day, even during off-duty times.

"Heh-heh. Can't be wasting so much time!". With that, she rushed to the bathroom to get dressed. The other boys didn't seem to mind changing out in the shared group room, but Pidge was pretty sure there were a few things they were bound to notice if she did as well. Thus, in the bathroom she changed every time.

Pidge tried to dress quickly, for Iverson wasn't too merciful to those unlucky enough to arrive to his training session late. Luckily, she hadn't been made an example of- yet- but a few of her acquaintances had. So she had quite the incentive to hurry. But maybe that turned out to be a bad idea.

You see, she had something that she couldn't leave back home. And that was clumsiness. In general, 'nerds' like her didn't tend to be too coordinated. But back home, she was famous for it amongst her friends and family. In fact, her dad always joked about naming her Grace. It was basically one of those dad jokes told over and over again.

Anyways, while putting on her leggings, her foot got stuck in the bottom, so she lifted her leg like a flamingo to pull on it. And then she started losing her balance and began hopping around like an idiot. She stumbled around like that for a few minutes and then fell, the ankle of the foot on the ground bending at an unhealthy-looking angle. Pidge cried out in pain and propped herself up on her elbows, looking at the injury. It was throbbing.

"Pidge?" a concerned voice called out from behind the door. Lotor.

"Y-yeah?" she hated how her voice wobbled.

"Are you alright?"

"Just dropped some stuff. No biggie".

"Rollcall's in only three minutes," he warned.

Dang it. "Just go on. I need to collect my things. Won't take long".

"…Okay." he replied hesitantly. Pidge waited until the sound of his footsteps faded away until she dared move.

She pulled on the rest of her clothes, hissing in pain when the cloth grazed her ankle, which had already begun to bruise in dark splotches. In short, it didn't look too good. But she couldn't afford to be late. Maybe she could walk it off?

Pidge brought herself to her feet, her teeth clamping down on her lip when weight was put on that foot. She opened the bathroom door and took timid steps. It hurt, but she was able to walk on it. She walked at a somewhat faster pace, though with slight limp, exiting the guards' quarters room. The training place was out in a cleared out field, a bit farther from the castle as the quarters were. Pidge continued on her way until the yell of a certain name caught her attention.

"Katie!". Pidge saw Lance run at her, with Hunk close behind. Before she knew it, she was in Lance's arms, being lifted from the ground and twirled around. Then she was hugged from behind by the one and only Hunk, making a sort of Katie sandwich, her feet still off the ground.

She gathered her bearings, and asked, "What in the world are you two doing here? And put me down!". Her friends complied, and she couldn't help but giggle at their faces as they grinned at her.

"What kind of friends would we be if we let you do this on your own?" Hunk said half-jokingly.

"But… how?!" Katie said. She had spent such a long time planning all of this, and they saw through it just like that?

"Well, umm intuition... and I kind of maybe sort of read your diary" Hunk answered nervously.

"Hunk! Why?! And more importantly, how did you find it?!"

"Katie, we've all been best friends since diapers; we know you pretty well," Lance said, giving her his signature grin and ruffling her now-shorter hair.

Katie sighed, exasperated. As much as she wanted (and tried) to be upset, this was actually a really nice surprise. She gave them a lopsided smile. "Thanks, guys".

"Aww" Hunk cooed, quick to squish her in another hug, which she happily returned.

The moment was ruined by a shrill whistle that sounded through the air. Iverson's training whistle. So not only had she missed rollcall …she'd missed the beginning of today's training sequence. And she couldn't recall that anyone else had ever turned up this late.

Katie groaned and face-palmed herself.

"What?" Lance asked.

"Captain of the guard is a real ass-wipe. And I'm late for training."

"What are you going to do?"

"Good question. Umm… It goes against my better judgement, but would you guys want to just hang out for the rest of the training session, and I can deal with the consequences later?" Katie suggested, smiling awkwardly.

Lance grinned like a madman and said, "Are you kidding?! Ignoring responsibility is what I do best!"

Hunk arched an eyebrow at the boy. "Yeah. We know" he deadpanned. All three broke into laughter. Katie hadn't realized how much she missed this.

Hello! I don't know if you can reply to comments or not, but I want to be sure to say this: thank you so much to everyone who has left comments on this! They make me so happy, and I really appreciate it! 3


	6. Chapter 6

All seemed to be working out nicely… sort of. Although Iverson was angry, when Pidge came to him later in the day, he was quick to hire her friends, given their thin guard lines. Luckily, she didn't need to explain much. Hunk did that. With his sunshiny charm, he explained that he and Lance were worried about their friend and needed jobs anyway, and of course, Iverson was still a jerk, but he begrudgingly took the excuse to be genuine. Honestly, anyone could tell Hunk wouldn't hurt a fly. And really it was a genuine excuse. Lance and Hunk were indeed very concerned about Katie. He just left out the parts about her gender and her mission and the reason they were actually here. No biggie.

Katie was still going to get punished though. For a week, her work hours would be doubled (which in a way, was good news, because she still had a bit of trouble moving too much on her healing ankle, and training was physically exerting hell), and she would be on cleaning duty for the guard's training and housing areas. Fun. The part that was worse than having to scrub away the various _'eww-what-even-is-that'_ s, was that she would have even less time to do what she came here for. But luckily, with Hunk and Lance there, she could count on them to help while she was away.

Meanwhile, she would be following around some Coran guy, who she figured to be somewhat important given that he'd need a guard's assistance. She expected a stiff fellow when told she'd accompany a 'royal advisor', but was pleasantly surprised to find a rather eccentric-looking man. He was tall, with a well-groomed bright orange mustache. If Pidge was honest, she thought he kind of looked like one of those weird uncles.

She didn't think the job would be that bad, but after a while, she began to realize how horrible this punishment really was. It was neither dangerous, nor exerting. Coran was just really, really chatty. He managed to talk Katie's ears off, and although he'd sometimes ask her questions, she wasn't able to get a word in edgewise in between his blabbering. He seemed perfectly content carrying on a conversation with himself.

Coran became silent for the first time since they'd met maybe fifteen minutes ago. They had been standing outside the palace, 'getting to know each other' as Coran put it. The lack of noise caught Pidge's attention, and she looked back up at him to see he was looking at his checklist.

"Hmm. First thing to do today: gather he princes for their fitting right after breakfast, which should be over in" Coran glanced at his watch, "A few ticks. Well, as my great grandfather always said: better the weaselhoppers jump before the sun rise than after. We better get a move on".

Pidge had no clue what kind of saying that was or what a tick meant, but boiled the message down to: it's better to be early than late.

They entered the castle through a less-impressive side door that seemed to be well-known for the help, given that she and Coran had to swerve through crowds of maids and cooks, etc. Once past the door, they were in a large room with multiple hallways stemming from it. It was a pretty nice place, just not quite as regal as Pidge expected. Coran seemed to notice this and said, "This area of the castle is for us servants. Places to rest, restock on cleaning supplies, and such. The hallways lead to areas some of us frequent. Like this one", he pointed at the one they walked toward, "leads to the kitchen. And the kitchen leads to the dining hall, which is where we need to be". He smiled down at the girl. Pidge found herself smiling back. Coran was starting to grow on her.

A comfortable silence fell over the two as they went on their way. Pidge began listening to the other voices from the other servants around her. A couple of maids stood gossiping:

"Really, that Nyma sure is something," one said, tutting and shaking her head.

"Oh she's something all right! And that something is a big ball of rude!" said the other, hands on her hips and looking about ready to whack someone upside the head.

Pidge shared a look with Coran, both smiling before his grin turned more into a grimace. "They're not kidding though", he whispered. "I've met her".

Katie giggled.

They fell back into to conversation. Coran let her talk this time. She brushed off his previous actions as hyperactivity; she didn't think he meant to be rude. He was actually pretty nice to be around, though still a bit eccentric, once he was given a chance. And the eccentricity actually made him more interesting in Pidge's new opinion. She wondered if Hunk and Lance would get to meet him.

Soon, the two arrived in the kitchen, which smelled absolutely amazing. Pidge hadn't had anything but the green nutritional goo fed to her by Iverson for quite some time. Her mouth seemed to water at the thought of real food. Coran noticed her reaction once again and chuckled, saying, "We'll get a snack soon, okay?"

Pidge eagerly nodded her head with a smile.

Coran stopped at a door, to which Pidge assumed was the awaited dining hall. Coran once again glanced at his watch. "Just on time." He fixed his shirt and twiddled with his mustache before entering. The idea that she was about to see the royal family in person hit Katie in the face. Oh. Wow. Okay, now she was nervous. But she only hesitated a second before following Coran.

Once she entered, her eyes bulged. The place was beautiful. But she was here on a job, right. Coran began to address the princes: "Good morning, boys. I hope your breakfast went well?"

The two young princes seated at the table smiled up at him. The older one was about to greet Coran, but was beat to it by the younger.

"Well, I learned that putting ketchup in orange juice isn't a good idea" he said, his nose cutely crinkling. "But other than that, good!" he finished.

Katie accidentally let out a snort, which caught the older one's attention. He looked at her with a polite smile, but Katie knew she really shouldn't have let that slip. 'Guards are meant to be seen, not heard' she reminded herself, while quickly averting her eyes.

Pidge snapped her head up back to the table when a loud, breathy cough sounded from the man at the table's head: the king. The single cough soon turned into a fit. The queen placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Dear?".

The king was unable to answer for a minute. "I'm fine. Just got a bit choked up" he waved it off as he drank some water.

After checking in once more with the king, Coran gathered the princes, and Katie followed along with them. While Coran and Pidge remained silent during the walk, their royal accompaniment let out the occasional giggle as they poked and made faces at each other. The four walked with Coran leading, the boys together in the middle, and Pidge toward the back, kind of unsure what to do. All her awkwardness was forgotten as she watched the boys with a gentle smile on her face. They were so cute. When they were together, having fun, they weren't princes. They were just regular boys.

Katie looked back on her similar memories with nostalgia. She remembered playing with Matt, back when she was little. To think she had turned seventeen only a month or so ago. She refused to celebrate in any way, treating the birthday as but another day, still working non-stop to find her family. To find Matt. It seemed like such a short time ago that seven-year-old Katie had been riding on the shoulders of her older brother by four years, squealing with joy and laughter. That same day, she had pushed Matt out a tree, causing him to break his arm, but details, details. Katie's smile grew larger at that memory.

The younger brother seemed to just now notice she was there. He slowed down a bit to walk in step with her. The older one looked back at what he was doing and followed suit, Keith now in between he and Pidge. "Who are you?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Remember your manners, Keith" the other hissed into the boy's ear.

"Oh. Oops." Keith said aloud. He turned back to Pidge. "I am Keith. It is a pleasure to meet you. What is your name?" the kid said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Pidge smiled down at the boy and took his hand, "Pidge Gunderson, royal guard. At your service, your highness". Once she had let go of his hand, she stumbled and awkwardly caught herself, flailing around like an octopus. "Heh" she awkwardly smiled back at Keith, who looked like he was holding back a giggle.

"I like you" Keith decided.

Katie laughed. "Well, I like you too". This caused the boy to give her a toothy grin. He might have just made a new friend.

Meanwhile, Coran had been listening in on their antics. The brothers were always playing around, but never had Keith taken to someone else so quickly. The boy tended to be a bit shy, unless around people he was comfortable with. That or he was selectively mute. The only people he really talked to were Shiro, of course, his parents, and Coran, all of whom had been around him since the day he was born. Coran personally thought Keith needed other kids around to play with. The boy had no friends outside of his close family, being closest to his older brother. Coran hated to think about when Prince Takashi would be so busy with royal duties that he wouldn't have much time for his younger brother. It was bound to come soon, given that the boy was almost eighteen.

The group arrived at their destination, where seamstresses waited in the room, which was filled with all sorts of fabrics and measuring tapes, etc. A large dressing curtain was in the room's corner.

"Okay, boys. How about Shiro goes first?" Coran suggested, wanting Keith to have more time with Pidge. Shiro agreed, and entered the room with Coran, leaving the two waiting outside the door.

"Do you know who Mothman is?" Keith inquired. Being too young to have many duties, unlike Shiro, the boy often had a lot of free time to do as he pleased, when his studies didn't interfere. And during this time, Keith liked browsing the castle's library, in which his love for cryptids and conspiracy theories was born and rapidly grew.

"Yes!" Katie squealed, excited. Who would have thought a prince would be interested in that sort of thing? The two immediately hit it off, excitedly talking about their theories, stories, and their own experiences.

The two laughed, and Katie then sadly smiled, remembering all the bigfoot hunts and such she used to drag Matt on. All the nights she spent talking to him about this kind of thing.

Katie felt a tug on her sleeve. She must have zoned out for a minute. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Keith asked, looking up at her owlishly. Although Katie barely skimmed the five-foot mark, the nine-year-old still went only up to her chest, being quite small and young himself.

"Oh. I-I'm fine" she answered, giving him a forced smile. Unfortunately, Keith was rather perceptive.

"Nuh-uh. Something's wrong" he said, crossing his arms and giving his new friend a persistent look. He was always a stubborn one.

Katie sighed and looked away, before looking back to the small boy and giving him a sad smile. "I'm just missing my family. I haven't seen them in a long time. And… you kind of remind me of my own brother". Why was she suddenly pouring her heart out to a little boy she hadn't even met before today? She could have just made up an excuse other than that. Her self-reprimanding thoughts were interrupted by a squeeze around her middle. Looking down, she saw Keith hugging her. She awkwardly wrapped her own arms around the small boy.

"I hope this helps" Keith said, his voice slightly muffled, because his face was pressed into his friend's shirt. "My brother hugs me when I'm upset". He tilted his chin up so he could look her in the eyes and gave an innocent smile that Katie knew Hunk would fawn over- heck, even she found this kid adorable, and she was never too great around children, unlike the ray of sunshine himself.

Katie smiled back, not really sure what to say. She pulled him in tighter and rested her head on his. "Thank you". They stood there for a minute, and broke the hug a few seconds before the door loudly opened, announcing Coran's return. The older prince stood at the man's side.

"Prince Keith, it's your turn", Coran said, smiling at the smiles on the two's faces. He had a feeling their playdate went well. "Prince Takashi, wait please so that I'll have both of you when we go to see your parents".

"Yes, sir" the older boy said.

Keith now remembered some of his etiquette lessons after all, for he decided to introduce his brother to his new friend. "Shiro, this is… umm, what's your name again?". Shiro knew the rules of manners would declare it all quite rude, but he couldn't resist smiling at his little brother's silliness.

"Call me Pidge", the girl laughed.

"Right! Shiro, this is Pidge. Pidge, this is Shiro", Keith said. He grinned and gave a brief wave as he was ushered into the fitting room by Coran.

Neither had really gotten a good look at the other. Katie stood looking at 'Shiro' for a moment before realizing she was staring. In her defense, he was pretty attractive, though he seemed to be completely unaware of the fact, which just made him even cuter.

Meanwhile, Shiro too was staring a little. This boy was rather… pretty? He wondered if it was considered rude to call a guy that.

Pink dusted both of their cheeks. After a second, Shiro cleared his throat and began to speak. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You seem to get along with Keith pretty well".

Katie met his eye. "Yeah, umm, you too, your highness. And yeah, he's a real sweetheart". The thought of the boy made her smile fondly, somewhat diverting her attention from her previous awkward words.

"Wait till you see him angry", Shiro laughed. "And please, call me Shiro".


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a week or so since Katie's first day with Coran. Meanwhile, she had grown close to him and the princes. In particular, Shiro. She felt nervous around him at first but soon felt that he was the easiest person to talk to since Matt, which worried her a bit. Already, she had slipped up a couple times regarding her identity. She had told him about learning to cook and such, which wasn't necessarily bad, she just worried he would find out she was, well… a she. Katie knew cooking was often considered a feminine thing, which she thought was stupid, but she worried any little detail could give her away.

In fact, Katie felt as insecure in her identity as ever. It was like she was walking on thin ice, with the knowledge that it would break soon, but never knowing exactly when she would crash through to be swallowed by the cold water awaiting her.

Now, she saw much less of Lotor, which was to her liking. He was nice, don't get the wrong idea. He'd just started acting strange around her. Katie almost wanted the prickly Lotor back. Now, she always felt his eyes looking at her, analyzing her, never wavering. He even started doing things like sitting really close to her at breakfast, the only meal they had together with her new schedule, his hip glued to hers. Lotor also seemed to hate her friends, glaring at them when they sat near her or basically did anything that would catch her attention.

Now, Katie laid in her bed, awake before the daily waking call of the screeching Iverson. Given the small slivers of light peeking through the drawn curtains of the shared guards' room, she assumed that it would be any minute now. She internally groaned at the mere thought of lugging her body from the sheets of her bed. She was tired as heck. Despite her tiredness, she wasn't able to clear her anxious thoughts as she lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. Katie wasn't even sure she'd slept at all. The fact that she returned from her extra work with Coran after everyone had already had lights-out didn't help.

After dressing and breakfast, she'd head toward her and Coran's meeting place, where she'd begin her day. And then she'd see Shiro and Keith. The thought made her smile, and, as much as they thought it was stupid, thinking of the older prince made her blush a bit.

'Stop that' Katie commanded herself. 'You're here on a mission. Besides, he'd never go for a commoner boy'. She huffed inwardly, honestly a bit angry at herself.

Katie slightly jumped as a door's slam ricocheted through the silence. Iverson. He carried on with his typical yelling and then stomped out of the room once satisfied with his work. She heard Lance whining to Hunk about having to get up so early, which made her giggle. She hopped down and greeted her childhood friends with a smile, met with an overdramatic grimace from Lance and a weak, tired smile from Hunk.

The trio hastily readied themselves for the day, Pidge excusing herself to the restroom like usual. She made sure to secure her beloved picture in her pocket. The one taken when her family was still whole. In the photograph, she was hugging Matt. Back when she still had long hair and wore dresses. It made her feel just a bit better to hold it close to her.

They began to walk out together, but Katie stiffened and jumped when she felt an arm suddenly slung around her shoulders. She looked up to see Lotor's face twisted into a smug grin.

"Hey there, Pidge. What's up?" he asked. Hunk and Lance looked back to see Lotor with Katie. Hunk never liked this guy. Since day one, he'd had a bad feeling about him, and the murderous looks Lotor had sent his and Lance's way certainly didn't improve his impression. He'd spoken about this to Lance, and even he seemed to be wary of the guy. The two instantly fell in step with their friend, Hunk next to Katie and Lance next to Lotor, who wasn't very pleased about this. He curled up his lip in disgust and pulled Katie closer to him so that her side was pressed against him. She squirmed a bit.

"Oh, umm, hi" she said, working her way out of his grip.

The four made their way to the mess hall, Lance and Hunk trying to separate Lotor and Katie as much as they could.

Lotor snarled from behind. Those two needed to back off. How was he supposed to talk to her when those dopes kept getting in the way? It was almost the end of the month. Tomorrow was the last day, specifically. When he and Nyma would have to leave. He wanted to at least try to convince her to come with him willingly, and of course, he wasn't going to have that conversation in front of the others. If only he could get her alone for just a few minutes.

Lotor contemplated this throughout breakfast and soon came up with an idea to get her alone. After breakfast, he was supposed to go to training along with the others, while the girl would be walking to meet that weird mustache guy. He'd just have to risk being late.

Katie said her goodbyes to Hunk and Lance, making her way to the meeting place. Lotor followed behind her after making sure her two friends weren't watching. He caught up to her and pulled her shoulder to face him, which made her yelp. He spoke in a low voice. "Listen, I know things. Things about your family. Meet me tonight when you get back. I'll be waiting at the edge of the woods, past the gate".

Katie gapped at him, taken by surprise. He knew about… Matt and Dad? "W-hat? How?" she called after him, starting to follow. But… where had he gone? It's like he'd vanished into thin air.

"Good morning, Pidge!" a familiar voice called. Katie jumped and looked back to see Coran, who she attempted to smile back at. "Is everything alright? You look as though you've seen a grizzle-phantom".

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a bit tired", she lied.

Coran didn't seem convinced but decided not to push the subject. Instead, he led her through their usual routine. They arrived at the kitchen, and Coran warmly greeted the chefs. Pidge was still acting weird. He worried about the girl. The man was shaken from his thoughts by a loud hacking and clattering from behind the door. He raced in without his usual care for a dignified entrance, Pidge on his heels.

Behind the door laid the king, deathly pale, on the ground along with some plates and silverware that must have fallen from the table when he did. The queen and Shiro were at his side, the boy checking for a pulse while the queen called for help when Coran entered: "We need a doctor! Someone get a doctor!"

Coran told Pidge to stay with the family, while he went to get the medics. She went to Keith's side when she saw him. His view was blocked, as he stood behind Shiro and his mother. The young prince was crying. Pidge quickly gathered the boy she'd grown so fond of in her arms. She knelt down so that his tear-streaked cheek pressed against her shoulder. Katie cradled him, although she had soon learned that he hated being babied (or at least pretended to), but he didn't seem to mind now, not when he saw his father collapse, barely breathing. Shiro announced that he felt a pulse.

The medics rushed in with Coran tagging behind them. They put the king on a stretcher. The queen looked back at the princes. "Boys, stay with the guard. Your duties and lessons are canceled for today". Coran gave her a questioning look. "Coran, I want you with me by my husband's side".

The two quickly trailed after the medics, leaving Pidge with the boys. Keith was still in Katie's arms, while Shiro seemed to just now notice they were there. He silently got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around both Katie and Keith. Katie felt kind of bad for being comforted by his touch. After all, this was their father at stake, not her own, but then again, she'd had quite the eventful morning. First with Lotor supposedly having information about her own missing family, now with someone almost dying before her very eyes. It was stressful to say the least.

Even on his knees, the older prince still stood a few inches above her own head. He was rather tall, Katie knew, but his height was somehow different than Lotor's, although the two were about the same size. While Lotor made her feel small and weak, Shiro's very presence comforted her, made her feel stronger. Over Keith's head, her eyes met his. Even at a time like this, he was still trying to be strong for everyone else. But Katie saw pain in his eyes. Worry. Fear.

The three huddled together for who knows how long- minutes, hours-, Katie didn't really know. None really knew what to do. No one had come to check up on them, for everyone's focus was on their ruler. Wordlessly, Shiro grabbed each of his acquaintance's hands and led them. And wordlessly, the two followed. They ended up in the palace garden, a calm place filled with colorful wildflowers and a few marble decorations, bird baths, and benches.

They all sat in the garden silently, seated at a bench. It wasn't an awkward silence, more like a mutual understanding that there was really nothing to say. The outdoors seemed to console their troubled minds.

They spent hours in the garden, pressed up against one another as they sat on a bench. Keith, being the most shaken, sat in the middle. Once again, Katie met Shiro's eyes. He was scared. Although he didn't always act like a dignified royal, he didn't show much vulnerability. He played and goofed around, but no one ever knew how truly fearful he was of his future. He frequently worried about when he would become ruler of the Kingdom of Altea, but no one ever knew how much he worried. Not even Keith, who he was closest to. But around Pidge, he didn't feel like he'd let her down if he revealed that yes, he was scared. Terrified. Katie gave him a look, and in that moment, he knew she understood.

Coran found the three in the garden just an hour or so before sundown. Before anyone could ask any questions, he assured them that "The king is okay. He's now resting". He gave them a forced smile. "Prince Keith, I believe it's time for you to go to bed. Prince Takashi, you've been asked for by the queen".

Keith pouted. "No one else has to go to bed!", he protested.

"Growing boys need sleep", Coran answered, taking Keith by the hand to lead him to his room. "Oh, and Pidge? You may take leave early today. Take care. I'll see you in the morning".

Katie just nodded and exited silently. Then she remembered: she was meant to meet Lotor soon. After everyone had gone to bed. She looked up at the sky, given that the sun had just gone down, and it was summer, she assumed that lights out was only a few minutes ago. She thought that it was probably best to wait a while before meeting with Lotor. It would give her time to calm down a bit. Besides, she usually got back around half an hour later. He wouldn't expect her for a while. To pass time and gather her bearings, she decided to take a walk around the palace grounds.

Meanwhile, Shiro stood outside the door of the room his mother was in. He had an idea what she wanted to talk about, but nothing could prepare him for the words coming from his own mom. With a deep breath, he entered to find his mother seated at a table. She nodded toward a chair across from her, which Shiro took.

The queen cleared her throat. "Takashi, as you know, you're getting older. In only a few weeks you'll be eighteen. And age comes with responsibility. We didn't expect something like this to happen so soon, but with your father in this condition, it's possible that you may have to soon take the crown. Permanently". She looked for her son's reaction, which was looking a little sick, but he didn't look shocked. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not. The queen continued. "Your duties have been getting heavier with age, but I'm afraid it will all come quite suddenly now. While your father is ill, you will take his place until… if… he recovers. I'm not going to lie to you, Takashi. He's not doing well", her voice broke a bit, but she did her best to cover it up. "Thus, I think it would be a good idea for you to get a wife by your eighteenth birthday".

Shiro's eyes bulged. Wife? He was still a teenager! He couldn't do this, he wasn't ready, he wasn't ready, he wasn't ready! "B-but", he stuttered.

The queen looked at him sympathetically. "You know the law, Takashi". Of course. The law. Crafted hundreds of years ago, it commanded that an Altean ruler have a spouse of opposite sex, so that there would be an heir.

He shifted his eyes from his mother's face. "I'm going to need some time". And with that, he uncharacteristically ran from the room. His feet had a mind of their own, and they brought him to the garden. He was always able to think better here. To calm down.

Shiro fell on his knees, leaning his upper body on the seat of the bench he had previously shared with his brother and Pidge. He panted, feeling his eyes get watery. His hands tightened on the bench seat. He was about to take the role of a king. King's don't cry. He clenched his teeth and tried to look elsewhere. Anywhere other than his knuckles, which shook and were white because of how tightly he clenched them. Then, something on the bench caught his eye. A photograph.

The picture showed two people: a boy and a girl, siblings by the looks of it. And one of them looked really familiar. At first he thought the boy had to be Pidge, but it soon dawned upon him that Pidge was the girl. He could tell by the gentle curve of her face, dotted with the cute freckles he admired when he thought she wasn't looking. His mouth hung open.

"Better close that. You'll catch bugs". Shiro whipped around and sighed in relief when he saw it was only Keith that had snuck up on him.

"I thought you were supposed to be sleeping".

Keith shrugged his shoulders with a little smirk on his face. "Don't expect me to follow orders that are stupid". He then leaned over his brother's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss her".

"What? How did you-"

"It's pretty obvious. And tomorrow's her last day helping Coran. Didn't you know? Also, what did mom say?"

Shiro hesitated. "I'll tell you later. I- I don't think I'll be able to see her tomorrow", he answered, thinking about the upcoming duties his mother spoke of. An idea popped in his head. He would return the picture to her and get to say goodbye. "Keith, stay here". He ran out of the garden, clutching the picture to his chest.

Katie looked up at the sky once more. She figured it was about time to meet Lotor. She arrived at the guards' quarters. Where was she supposed to meet him, again? A dark shadow then slipped out from behind the building. Lotor.

"Happy you could make it", he said. Katie started feeling very strange again.

Katie didn't bother beating around the bush. She clenched her fists, more so out of fear than anger, and asked, "What do you know, and how do you know it?". She tried to still the wobble in her voice.

"I know quite a lot of things. For example, I know you're no boy". He paused to evaluate her reaction. "I can give you so much. You'd get to see your family". He grabbed her hands in his. "Everyday. Wealth beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is come with me."

Shiro slowed his steps when he spotted Pidge with some other man. They were holding hands. But Pidge didn't look very happy. What in the world was going on? He stood in the shadow of the night, out of sight, but able to see the two.

"All you have to do is come with me".

Pidge's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"Marriage".

It took a second for Katie to process his words. "What?! You're crazy! Where are they?!". She tore her hands from his and bared her teeth.

Lotor actually looked a bit hurt for a moment, but he quickly covered it up with a smirk. "So is that a no?"

"Hell yeah it's a no!"

"As you wish, my dear". Lotor pulled a cloth out from his pocket and swiftly grabbed Katie around the waist, forcing the cloth over her nose and mouth. She let out stifled screams as she struggled.

Shiro didn't know what to do, but his feet were already carrying him toward the scene. "Get away from her!" he yelled, attacking Lotor, trying not to hurt Pidge in the process. The girl was already passed out. The screaming had just made her more desperate for air.

A girl with long blonde hair in a maid's outfit came out of the shadows, a chloroform-dowsed cloth in her own hand. The other held a young boy, already passed out.

"Keith!" Shiro yelled. Distracted, Lotor was able to land a good punch, knocking Shiro to ground. The woman then came up behind him, after setting down Keith, and she clamped the cloth over Shiro's face. His world soon went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Lotor closed his eyes in concentration. Spells for altering memories were always complicated. Also, he hadn't been able to practice much, given that his identity as a regular Altean didn't really mix well with dark sorcery. Luckily for him, he had been taught by a great warlock: his own father, King Zarkon. What Prince Lotor would call 'rusty' was actually a whole lot better than most self-proclaimed warlocks' bests.

Opening his eyes, he saw, to his pleasure, that the stupid Altean prince was shrouded in a hazy, purple mist. The spell was working. Lotor erased his memories about what happened tonight, still deciding on what to replace them with.

"Hurry it up! I'm getting tired of holding this chick!" Nyma said, her glare as sour as poison. Katie was out cold, being held up by Nyma at his command.

This broke Lotor's concentration, and he turned to shoot an insult. Before he could even get out a word, his eyes bulged at the sight of the light turning on in the guards' quarters. Someone was probably woken by all the noise. They had to get out of sight before anyone investigated.

Lotor swiped Katie from Nyma's grasp. "We need to leave".

"The spell isn't-"

"-It's fine! I'll explain later. Now, go!" Lotor said, swiftly scooping up Katie's limp body and running to the woods with Nyma. Without being sighted, the two figures slipped into the dark forest, consumed by shadows.

At this time of night, all but Hunk were asleep. He always waited for Katie to come back before he let himself rest. Where was she? She should have arrived a while ago.

Finally, too worried to just stand around and do nothing, he decided to wake up Lance. He shook his friend's shoulder. Gosh, this kid was a heavy sleeper. "Lance!" Hunk whisper-shouted, now shaking him more violently. The boy's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Past the time Katie should have come back. You need to help me look for her" he whispered back.

"Oh my god!" Lance shouted, swinging his legs out of bed. His yell woke a few people, who mumbled complaints, still half-asleep. "Oops" he said in response, still pretty loud, which was answered in another wave of mumbled curses.

A loud slam woke up practically the whole room. Iverson. He stomped out of his private room, and turned on the light with a low growl. "What in the hell are you maggots doing up?! I ought to have your hides for disturbing a higher-ranking officer!"

Hunk stepped in, trying to appease the burly man. He raised his hands, almost like he was trying to calm down a wild animal. "I'm sorry, Sir, but Pidge is late, and-"

"-Does it look like I give a damn?! Get in your beds before I have mind to whoop your asses! If I hear a single peep or find you up, I'll skin ye!". With that, he went back into his room, slamming the door closed with a certain vigor that made even those used to him flinch.

Hunk and Lance exchanged worried looks as they followed Iverson's orders. They were so lost in their own thought that they barely even noticed the glares sent their way by the other angry recruits. What were they going to do? There really was nothing they could do.

The lights were still on, because no one was brave enough to get out of bed to turn them off, and everyone was awake for sure now. And angry. Very. One guy even showed Lance an offensive hand gesture, to which he responded with it on both hands. If Iverson's rage hadn't threated them, Lance and Hunk would have been getting beaten up by them for sure. If they dared leave, Iverson would punish the whole lot anyways, so it wouldn't really matter if the others got in a fight. And as much as even Lance hated to admit it to himself, there was no way he and Hunk could take them on alone without being beaten to pulps.

So all laid silently in bed in the light until morning. Some fell back asleep, but most didn't, including Lance and Hunk. The day started like usual, despite some glares here and there, but instead of going to breakfast, Hunk and Lance went looking for Katie. The situation must have been even worse than they thought if she never made it back at all.

Shiro's entire body felt sore and weak. Eventually, he got the energy to open his eyes, and what he saw when they opened was definitely unexpected. He found himself seated on the bare ground, his back leaned up against a tree. And there was something warm on his lap… he brought his stiff neck down to see Keith's head leaning on him. The boy, was still sleeping, yet seemed troubled even in sleep. His face was set in a frown, though as the dream progressed, Shiro saw his features take on fear as well. He began moving a bit, probably thrashing about in the dream, before Shiro decided to wake him up. He tried not to do anything that could frighten him, but even with his gentle touch, Keith bolted up and let out a slight scream.

"Keith, are you okay?" the older boy asked.

The nine-year-old didn't seem to hear him, for he was too lost in his own flashbacks of last night's events. In an instant, he came back to the present. "PIDGE! Where is she?!". He frantically turned around, hoping to see her alright, even though he knew she was gone.

"What?" Shiro asked. He looked at Keith as though he was questioning his sanity.

"You didn't see it?! Some guy got Pidge, and I was following you. Well, I guess you wouldn't remember that part, because you didn't know to begin with, but some girl with him saw me and made me pass out and…" the boy rambled, his words said so fast that Shiro had difficulty understanding them.

Shiro stood and reached toward his brother. "Keith, calm down. I'm sure it was just a nightmare".

Keith wouldn't let Shiro touch him. He gapped at his brother, almost angrily. "What do you even mean?! You were there! It happened!" he yelled.

"Keith-"

"-If it didn't happen, how did we end up here?!"

"We were…" Shiro faded off. His eyebrows furrowed. He began to pace, his fingers pressed up against his temple like he had a headache. "I-I… I don't know" he finally admitted.

"Okay, then what's the last thing you remember?"

"Umm… the garden, finding Pidge's picture"

"That's it?"

"Yeah…" he sighed. "Keith… what happened?"

"Like you said, you found the picture. Pidge is a girl, blah blah, and I told you today is her last day with Coran, and then you went off to say goodbye and return it to her. The rest… I told you. Pidge got attacked, and the lady got me, and that's all I remember".

Shiro took in his words, this time pressing into both temples as he paced. He bit down on his lip and attempted to gain some composure. Kings don't freak out in tense situations. What would a king do? He came up short. In a shaky whisper he said, "I don't know what to do".

Lance and Hunk continued surveying the area. They hoped Katie just fell asleep in some weird place. She did that a lot back home.

Lance bent down. "Hey, look at this". He indicated toward the scuffed up grass that stood out in the otherwise impeccable lawn. A possible sign of struggle. He then pointed to some cloths on the ground nearby, which could have been used for drugging.

Hunk was horror-stricken. He looked elsewhere, anywhere other than the potential crime scene, as he thought over the evidence. While looking away, he saw people. "Lance". He pointed to them. The taller one looked like he was having a mid-life crisis, and the shorter one honestly didn't look much better. "Do you think they could have…"

Lance took a while to answer. "No. I don't think so. Let's check 'em out though. They might know something". He began approaching the two before even giving Hunk time to agree, leaving the other boy to anxiously trail behind him.

"Hey" Lance started out casually. The older one managed a polite nod and forced smile. The younger boy looked angry that the others were even there.

"What do you want?" he spat. Usually, Shiro would have reprimanded him, but this time, he simply placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke himself.

"Sorry. We don't have much time to talk. I see that you are members of the royal guard, I'd like to ask if you know a Pidge".

"What?!" Lance spazzed.

Keith took a 'threatening' step toward Lance. "Answer the question, flapjack".

"Flapjack?! What does that even mean?!"

"Lance" Hunk scolded. He took on the role of peacemaker like usual. "Listen, Pidge is our friend. He went missing, and we haven't seen him since early yesterday morning. We just want to know if you've seen anything fishy".

Shiro looked down at Keith. "You know the story best, buddy".

After Keith explained what he saw, Hunk asked, "Is there any chance this guy had long silvery hair? Pointy chin?"

"That's him".

"Lotor" Hunk growled. He may be a ray of sunshine, but hurt his friends and he'd turn into a raging teddy bear.

Hunk explained the situation about his previous misgivings regarding Lotor. Sharing a look with Lance, they decided just through facial expressions that telling them the whole truth of Katie's identity and motives might be the best lead they had. "Well, there's something you don't know about Pidge… umm, how do I put this…" Hunk said.

"Pidge is a girl" Keith said nonchalantly.

Lance gapped at him. "How would you know?! You're like six!" he said, ever-so dramatically throwing his arms in the air.

"I'm nine. And just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm stupid like you" Keith shot back.

Lance was about to say something back, but stopped when Hunk elbowed him. Usually, he'd find Lance getting roasted by a nine-year-old funny, but this wasn't the time for that. Katie was in danger. Hunk turned to Shiro, the only other person in the group taking the situation as seriously as he did. "But what seems most important is Katie's" he corrected himself when the princes looked confused "Pidge's… motive. Her father and brother were kind of like specialized soldier-guard members. Well, they were full-time guard members until they decided to use their technological skills in the front lines of the war with the Galra, but anyway, they went missing, and there was no true investigation into it. So Pidge disguised herself to get inside, hoping she might get some information". Hunk tried to slow his rambling words. "I don't know what that creep would want with her, but I think it may have something to do with it".

Shiro thought for a moment. "With the war going on, there certainly won't be anyone willing to use resources and time on the case, so…". The only chance of rescue would be if it was a private party. But he couldn't just abandon his kingdom in time of need, as much as he wanted to forget the responsibilities of the crown and help Pidge, he knew the fate of so many people rested on his shoulders. "As much as I hate to say it, I don't believe I can be of much help. My duty lies here, in the heart of Altea. But I can point you in the right direction. Have you ever heard of Allura?"

Katie's eyelids were heavy. Too heavy to open. But she felt comfortable. She was laying on something cushy… probably her own bed at home. Maybe it had all been a dream, a nightmare. All of it. Her family was okay. They were probably sleeping in too, or maybe she was ill, and they were caring for her. Any minute, Matt would come in and check up on her. Her mom might take her temperature. She was comforted by this thought, which caused a small, serene smile to paint her face.

"I think she's waking up, Dad!" a familiar voice called. She felt her hand get squeezed between two larger, warm ones. "Katie?" the voice said, softer this time.

Her eyes slowly opened, though they still felt a bit heavy. It took a moment for her vision to adjust, but once it did, she was met by the best sight in the world: her brother and father. She was home! She had to be. The image immediately perked her up, and she jumped to wrap her brother, who was closest, while her father was leaning over his shoulder, in a tight hug.

"I had a horrible dream, and you were gone, and…" Katie's voice faded out when she began surveying her surroundings. This place certainly wasn't home. She was in a lavish bedroom, which was furnished chiefly in royal purple. The bed she laid on had dark mahogany head and foot boards, yet was still dressed in matching purple covers and sheets. Other than that, the room was generally plain and wasn't personalized, very unlike her own room that was strewn with books and notepads and nuts and bolts and circuits and such.

She pulled away from her brother's embrace, scared that he too wasn't real. "Where am I?" she asked, making eye contact with her brother and then her father. The two looked at her with pain and sympathy.

"Honey," her father began, "You're in the Galran Palace…". He looked at Matt. "…And we've been here all this time…"


	9. Chapter 9

Earlier:

Once Lotor and Nyma made it into the woods, it was no problem to teleport back to his own castle. Teleportation spells were always a bit fickle, but such familiar places as one's home were much simpler to arrive at. During, he gave rushed answers to her questions about the incomplete spell she performed on the Altean prince. Really, it was rather simple. He had taken the memories, but didn't get time to replace them. They just had no time to lose on a dumb explanation leading up to their escape.

At his return, Lotor left Nyma to do whatever Nyma-thing she was supposed to do, probably alerting Sendak of their arrival and such. When it came to jobs, Nyma was like Barbie; that chick did everything. She kind of looked like one too, with her long blonde hair. That said, Lotor knew anyone who compared her to a Barbie doll would get punched in the face.

He had carried Katie to a spare room and tucked her in gently. He spent a few moments sitting on the edge of the bed and just gazing at her, thinking. In sleep, her face looked calm and her breathing was serenely even. Lotor brought a hand up to pet her soft cheek.

It was a shame that she didn't come willingly. He was sure that he'd be able to convince her to be his eventually though. Not with magic, but by her own volition. He'd never force her into anything- well, if you don't count the kidnapping, that is. Katie at least seemed to like him before, but he had to admit, it was wishful thinking to believe it was romantically. But all things can be changed.

 _Lotor stood at the front of the line along with the others as they waited for Iverson's recruitment. It was awfully boring, honestly. He tried to pass time by analyzing all the others. He observed their behavior and judged their clothing._

 _But the time-passing activity soon was ripped from his mind when he spotted a familiar looking face at the back. She must have been concealed from his view most of the time because of her height. Never had he seen the girl in person, but he knew her when he saw her. The lab rat's sister. He thought she was pretty in the picture, but her beauty was different now. The most obvious differences were the haircut and males' clothing, yet what truly struck him was hard to put words to. The girl wasn't particularly strong in the physical aspect, and she looked worried, but her whole aura just seemed to radiate determination and intelligence. In that way, she reminded him of a warrior._

 _Interesting. But what was the girl doing here? And dressed up like that? Lotor thought he knew what she was looking for. Actually, her motives were quite easy for the prince to figure out just in a matter of seconds: She wanted her family, of course. He was sure if someone could find them, it would be her, but he already knew there was no evidence or records of their disappearance, besides those that simply stated the two were MIA. Nyma had made sure of that._

 _He continued to sneak curious glances at her, sometimes staring when she looked more distracted. His viewing was brought to an end when Iverson, the captain of the guards, came outside. Lotor stood at attention like the rest. He liked to think it was hate at first sight._

 _After all the mandatory registration processes, the lot were escorted by Iverson to the guards' quarters. The room for the new recruits presented to them was long, with bunk beds lining two of the longer, parallel walls, leaving about a five-foot gap for a walk way. It was quite plain and worn down, all the colors of the room being varying shades of beige. On the shorter, parallel walls, there was a multiple-stalled bathroom on one side, and a door to Iverson's own private room on the other._

 _Said man began threatening them all, laying out the ground rules, "Okay, maggots! Listen up! Never, and I mean NEVER, even think about coming in my room! The room for the older guards is on the other side of the building, and that's off limits too, ya hear me?!". At this, Iverson singled out a random person from the group and glared until the boy meekly nodded. "Good. I'm fuckin' tired of y'all, dammit. We'll go over more in the morning. Fight amongst yourselves for beds". Iverson huffed and entered his own room, slamming the door behind him._

 _The room was silent for a few seconds before people began scrambling for the best spots. Honestly, Lotor didn't really care where he was. All the areas made him want to turn up his nose, equally slobby to him._

 _Most beds were already claimed when he glanced around. He headed for an empty bunk a few spots away from the bathroom. Lotor and the girl stopped in their tracks when they noticed each other heading in the same direction._

 _"_ _Oh, umm" the girl said, looking around in hope for a bunk she could have all to herself. Unfortunately for her, the only other open spot was beneath Gus Balinger, who Lotor soon nicknamed 'Gassy Gus' for reasons that need not be explained._

 _She looked back up at Lotor, having to tilt her chin up quite a bit to actually look him in the eye. It's then that the Galran prince realized how small she was. He knew she was shorter than the rest, but never quite realized how delicate she looked. She was like a tiny bunny._

 _And Lotor was a hawk._

 _"_ _Umm, hi, bunk buddy?" she smiled nervously and held out her hand for him to shake._

 _Something made him wary of touching her. He was trying to figure her out. Friend or foe? Perhaps, both at once. Lotor settled with simply glancing down at the outstretched hand before giving a curt nod._

 _"_ _Lotor"._

 _She awkwardly dropped her hand to rest at her side again. "Oh, umm, I'm Pidge"._

 _"_ _Pleasure" he replied._

 _Pidge didn't really know whether he was being sarcastic or not. She looked down at her feet before returning her eyes to the guy in front of her._

 _The last thing Lotor wanted to do was stand there through all this awkwardness. "We should set up our things" he said._

 _"_ _Okay" Pidge said, glancing at the top bunk 'discreetly'. She obviously wanted it, but was too uncomfortable to ask. She looked at Lotor to see which bed he planned to take, figuring she'd just take the other after he chose. Any way to avoid upsetting him any more than she needed to._

 _"_ _You can have it" he said in his typical unamused tone, not even bothering to look in her direction._

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _The top bunk. You can have it if you want"_

 _"_ _O-oh… thanks" she said. The gesture meant little, but Pidge smiled to herself a bit. He wasn't all that bad._

The girl shifted a bit under the prince's affectionate touch. His heart began to race, but came to a slow when he realized that she hadn't awoken. He wasn't ready to face her yet. Maybe he could just erase those memories? Replace them with something more… pleasant? The idea was tempting, but something in his chest seemed to hold him back from doing so. That's not how it worked in any of the stories his nursemaid would read him as a kid.

Lotor shook himself out of his stupor and reminded himself that he was being silly. Those books were for children. He was no child. He was future king of the Galra Kingdom. A ruthless hawk… who was going soft. He could imagine what Nyma would say if she knew: 'Hawk? Pft, you're a chickadee with an attitude'.

Oh well. Once this war was over with, he'd have all the time in the world to win her heart. One way or another.

 _The first day, in the simplest of words, sucked. Everyone else seemed to be suffering along with him. Lotor wasn't sure if the fact was consoling or annoying…_

 _Even the start to his morning sucked: Iverson's horrendous wakeup call (literally just him yelling at them and calling them names) made him bonk his head. As a highly trained warrior, he had excellent reflexes and instincts, so at the terrible sounds emitting from that oaf's mouth, Lotor immediately went into a fighting position. Hopping up to meet his opponent, he was met instead with a booboo._

 _Lotor lowly growled in pain, his hand over the bumped area. Not even a second later, he came face to face (well, upside down face) with the one and only Pidge. "You okay?" she asked._

 _Lotor furrowed his eyebrows. "… Yeah, just starting to regret giving you the top bunk" he muttered the last part to himself, but he was pretty sure Pidge heard._

 _Pidge gave him a look that he couldn't quite decipher the meaning of. She said nothing else and hopped down from the coveted top bunk, taking little time to grab her things and rush to the bathroom to get ready. Lotor noticed her cheeks burnt bright red and she walked with a rushed pace._

 _He didn't even have time to question this in his mind before he knew exactly what got her so flustered._

 _Right across from their bunk was another boy getting dressed. But this one wore no underwear and was casually carrying on a conversation, not seeming to care about his apparent nudity. Of course, it was a boys' dorm sort of situation: nobody cared all that much who saw whose junk, but Lotor amusedly figured it didn't really work that way for a someone in Pidge's situation._

 _Lotor took his time getting ready with the others. A boy with a bunk right next to his kindly introduced himself as Eddy. Lotor bit back his first reaction of laughing in the guy's face. As if he wanted to talk to a stupid Altean, especially not a commoner._

 _He wasn't here to make friends (nor did he want to), but Nyma had warned him last night to be nice, almost reminding him of a child's first day at school. It was in a mocking tone, but she still had a point. Being a jerk would just make life harder on him and draw attention._

 _So he roughly copied what happened with his introductions with Pidge. Perfect. Right in between friendly and Class A dick: off-putting enough to keep people from bothering him, yet not too far as to be widely hated. The Eddy guy seemed a bit upset with him, but it worked just as Lotor hoped._

 _Breakfast also sucked. In the mess hall, Lotor lined up with the others, sometimes cutting in line. The prince was ravenous, but he felt his appetite slip away the second a cafeteria lady spooned a green glop of… hazardous waste? onto his tray._

 _"_ _What the quiznak is this?!" he said to the lady, feeling personally insulted._

 _"_ _Sustenance. Now move. You're holding up the line" the woman grumbled. Lotor was about to argue, but Nyma's mocking words from last night 'wouldn't want to cause a scene, now would we?' echoed his head. He settled with shooting her a menacing look and smoothly turned around to find somewhere to sit._

 _The mess hall had only two tables. Each were very long with benches on either side. The cleaner-looking one was partially filled by older men. Probably off-limits for the newbies._

 _Lotor sat down at the end of the recruits table, which was already pretty full. Pidge, Eddy, and a couple other boys walked in a small group of four, chatting as they walked. Eddy seemed to be introducing Pidge to his friends. Glancing around, Lotor saw that the only other open spaces were near him. Damn it. They were heading straight in that direction._

 _While the other three slipped easily into their seats, Pidge was having a bit of trouble. Being between Eddy and some other guy, she couldn't have just slid on by the bench's side. Her small legs were struggling to raise high enough to get over the seat (which was, indeed, abnormally tall). Lotor lightly snorted at this._

 _Pidge fumbled a bit more before finally making it. She looked very proud of herself, but that face soon disappeared when she saw that some of the boys in the group were laughing at her. Her cheeks flushed. She gave a nervous smile to Eddy, who didn't seem to be laughing at her expense._

 _"_ _Real impressive, Pidge" one guy said. Lotor recognized him as Captain (No)Underpants from this morning._

 _"_ _Think you could teach me that move?" the other taunted._

 _"_ _Come on, guys. Give him a break" Eddy spoke up in an exasperated tone. The other two quieted down their snickers._

 _The group was awkwardly silent for a second before Eddy tried to strike up another conversation. "So, Pidge, what'd you do back home?"_

 _At this, the girl froze before plastering on a smile and answering "Well, umm, I was an engineer of sorts, but that's not really interesting. How about you guys?". She glanced around nervously. Honestly, Lotor found this kind of amusing, given that he was the only other person who knew why she didn't want to talk about herself. They continued to ask her questions. With each one, Lotor could practically feel the waves of anxiety crashing around her. Now, he was starting to wish those three would just shut up and let her be. Couldn't they tell she was uncomfortable?_

 _Iverson yelled "Only five more minutes, maggots! Eat up!"_

 _Captain Underpants snorted indignantly. "I'm gonna get a head start on training. You guys coming with?". The other dude, who Lotor didn't know the name of (nor did he have an insulting nickname for him yet) nodded and followed, not sparing Pidge a glance. Eddy looked back at her and asked if she wanted to come. She responded with a small smile and shake of her head._

 _'_ _Kiss-asses' Lotor insulted the three in his head._

 _Once they were out of earshot, Pidge let out a relieved sigh. She didn't think she could handle much more of being around those people. Eddy was nice, but his friends seemed a bit condescending. Not to mention overbearing._

 _For the first time since sitting down, Lotor looked down at his food. Five minutes to eat and he hadn't even had a bite. His face immediately twisted into one of disgust and became even more pronounced when he poked the green glob with his spork. It wiggled unappetizingly._

 _Lotor looked up at a small giggle. It came from Pidge, who was obviously enjoying watching Lotor react to the lousy waste they called 'breakfast' around here. She sort of froze in place and blushed when she noticed that he had heard._

 _Lotor was about to snap at her, but his words got stuck in his throat when he took in her embarrassed expression. Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself trying to make her laugh more. He got a big bite on his utensil and turned it over to see it stick. Then, he kind of shook the spoon, as if attempting to get the glop to fall off (it stuck to the spork insistently). Meanwhile, making a somewhat exaggerated copy of his previous facial expression._

How long had it been since he last heard her laugh? Lotor thought. The memory of its cadence was bittersweet.

 _At training, Iverson worked them like dogs. Lotor was very fit- he had to be; he was a soldier. The others seemed to be having a horrible time keeping up, but that wasn't his problem. Yet it wasn't so much the strenuousness of the exercises that bothered the Galran prince, though it did make him break a sweat: just the constant yelling of Iverson… the guy's screeching honestly made Lotor tempted to stab his own ears with the blunt sporks of the mess hall. Better yet go at Iverson with some. The only thing keeping Lotor from punching that bastard in the face was fantasizing about the many ways he could murder him._

 _After hours of training, the sky was darkening to a navy blue. The recruits were made to run one more lap before being excused for the night. The group of boys trudged to their quarters._

 _Lotor was walking a bit behind most of the others. By the sky's hues, Lotor thought Nyma would probably expect him in a few hours. Once everyone was sleeping._

 _He was drawn out of his thoughts by when he heard a grunt a couple yards ahead of him. There on the ground, he saw Pidge. She had fallen on her knees and was pushing herself up. She must have not been aware of Lotor's presence, as he had been of hers just a second ago, because she started grumbling to herself. "Nice. No injuries during actual training, but ya fall on the walk back to bed"._

 _Lotor's eyebrows furrowed. He came around so that he was in her line of vision. Pidge averted her gaze and began to pick herself off the ground. Her eyes widened when she sighted the hand held out to her. She followed the arm up to see it was indeed her grumpy bunkmate. Hesitantly, she took it and was surprised once more by the gentleness he used helping her up_

 _Once she was steady on her feet, Lotor walked ahead like it had never happened._

 _"_ _Thanks" Pidge said airily._

 _She saw Lotor's back tense up. He looked over his shoulder and gave a nod._


	10. Chapter 10

"Your highness?" a man called out from the doorway.

"Yes, doctor?" Shiro said. His eyebrows furrowed and he immediately stood up from the cluttered desk he sat at.

"The king. There was doubt, but… he has a chance of pulling through"

Shiro answered with a nod. "Thank you for informing me, doctor".

The man was about to leave when the prince called out. "Has my mother yet to be told?"

"I shall inform her now, your highness". He left the room.

The news of hope was a slight consolation, but the way it was presented really disturbed Shiro. He'd been the first told. Not the queen. Almost as though he were already king. The first in charge.

Shiro sighed and crumbled back into his seat. He clutched his head in his hands as he hunched over the desk. He was never one to curse- the rules of propriety and his gentle nature forbade it- but he couldn't help but think of something Pidge once said about 'shit hitting the fan'.

And yes, indeed, shit _had_ hit the fan.

And in the midst of it all, she was taken from him.

That said, Shiro knew she wasn't his to own. She was a free spirt, and her disappearance was anything but her fault.

But the selfish part in him was upset with her. She had left him in his time of need.

This side of him also growled in distaste when he thought of his mother. Always pressuring him. Forcing him to get married in a matter of months.

It was all too much, especially with the war going on.

Shiro had been trained since birth to rule one day, but now when met with any problem in the kingdom, all he felt was anxiety. To the eye, he knew what to do. He was in control. But inside, he felt that control was slipping through his fingers like sand.

Lotor looked down at the sleeping girl, pulling his hand back from caressing her cheek. She'd wake up soon. It was almost morning.

He ordered a servant to escort the lab-rats to Pidge's room, while he retreated to his own study. The last thing he wanted to do was be there when she woke up. She was going to hate him. Probably even more after talking to her family. Lotor supposed he'd just have to find a way to make it up to her.

He sat on a smaller sofa surrounded by bookshelves. Slowly, his head leaned to the side and his body was slumped up against the armrest. Maybe he'd just close his eyes for a couple minutes…

A half-asleep Lotor groaned and raised his arms to defend himself from the book he was being hit with. Was that Pidge? Did she come here to get even? Did-

"Lotor, _wake up_ , you dipshit! You're way past the beauty sleeping!" someone yelled, now trading the hitting with violently shaking his shoulder while screaming in his ear.

The prince, now wide-awake, sat up straight and saw who the aggressor really was. "Oh. You're Nyma" he mumbled to himself, somewhat relieved.

"Clever observation" Nyma sneered. She got straight to the point: "King Zarkon wishes to telelink with you". Lotor opened his mouth to confirm the linking place, but Nyma beat him to the unasked question "Your chambers"

Lotor nodded and went alone on his way. He snorted a bit at the thought of Nyma. If anyone else treated him with the tiniest bit of disrespect, he would make sure they regretted it. But he and Nyma had known each other since diapers. They grew up together, she having been the daughter of a high-ranking Galra commander. Never would they have been friends if there was a choice, but the closeness of their families sort of forced them into dealing with one another.

He thought it would be strange to call Nyma a friend, but then again, it would also be strange to say that they weren't friends. The two were generally comfortable around each other, which was rather apparent, but did they enjoy each other's company? Lotor couldn't really answer that.

He wouldn't know, due to being an only-child, but he thought maybe that she was like a sister? He wondered what Pidge's relationship with her own brother was like. That thought caused a twinge of pressure in his chest.

He felt that Nyma was more of an equal. And that said something because he only felt that way about a small handful of people in the Galran Kingdom, such as with his generals. Yet he still knew in the back of his mind that, as a royal, he had power over even them. His father was a whole different story…

Before their most recent meeting (which was almost four months ago), Lotor hadn't been in contact with his father for two years. There had been a sort of… falling-out between them. The Galra Kingdom had just begun warring with Altea.

 _"_ _We'll hit here first" King Zarkon said, pointing at the greatest Altean defense zone on a map hastily spread on the table. "Sendak, prepare troops for an attack"_

 _"_ _Yes, your highn-"_

 _Lotor interjected. "You can't be serious! Sending our best troops immediately to their best weaponized zone? We need to-"_

 _"_ _Silence" the king warned._

 _But Lotor would not let something of this importance slip so easily. "This plan relies only on brute strength. We'll be sacrificing our best on a tactless mission"._

 _"_ _You're but a boy. You know nothing of the ways of war" Zarkon growled through clenched teeth._

 _"_ _Father, I'm seventeen and have extensive training" Lotor reasoned._

 _Zarkon turned to Sendak. "Leave us" he ordered. Once the room's door closed behind the commander, only a father and son remained. He brought his attention back to Lotor. "Don't embarrass yourself, boy. More importantly, don't embarrass_ me _"._

 _"_ _Just listen to me!" Lotor retorted, frustration laced his words._

 _"_ _You're the one who needs to listen, fool! You've no experience. All you do is mess around all day, and I'm sick and tired of the act. Your behavior is out of line for that of an heir to the throne" Zarkon growled, becoming angrier by the second._

 _"_ _Mess around?! That's what you think I do all day? I've been studying and training! I know what I'm talking about, unlike you!" Lotor countered. He only realized that he probably shouldn't have said that last part right after the words passed through his lips._

 _At that, King Zarkon lost his temper. He violently gripped his son's shirt collar and snarled "You'll shut it if you know what's good for you". He bore his sharp teeth. "I dread the day you come to rule. You're no son of mine" he growled menacingly, yet lowly, which was even worse than plain out yelling._

 _King Zarkon released Lotor from his hold, pushing him back as he left. The prince stumbled a bit. Once he regained his footing, he shakily exhaled, the breath gradually speeding up with anger. Lotor's hands were fisted tightly. His knuckles were white._

 _"_ _Fine" Lotor said to himself. "You want me gone? Good, I don't want to stay here for another minute". He hurried off to his chambers to gather a few things before leaving._

 _He forcefully pulled at a knob and skimmed through the drawer's contents. He fished out an item and saw the fingernail crescents imprinted into his palms from clenching his fists so tightly as he held up the object: a button strung onto a loop of string. A piece of trash to others, but treasure to him._

 _He reminisced on the day it was made:_

 _A young Lotor sat at his nursemaid's feet while she was seated in a chair and patched up the holes in a pair of the boy's trouser knees. He was amused for a while with a small dragon figurine, but he soon got curious and peeked into the sewing box he was told not to touch, because it had 'sharp things' he could injure himself on. While she was busy with sewing, Lotor sneakily got a good look at everything in there. Scissors, fabric, thread, some pins, etc._

 _But what really caught the young boy's eye was a bright yellow button, around the size of a smaller coin. One might think such a simple thing would not interest a child so much, especially when there were many others much fancier and with designs._

 _But there was something about that button… and Lotor wanted it. He cautiously glanced back up at the nursemaid, who was still intent on her sewing. Once the coast was clear, he reached his hand in and…_

 _"_ _Ow!" the boy cried out, quickly retracting his hand as though he had touched a hot stove. In the other hand, he cradled the pin-pricked finger._

 _The sound definitely got the nursemaid's attention. "Lotor, honey, are you okay? Let me see" she said as she got down on her knees to bring herself eyelevel to him. She gently grabbed his hand and spotted the small dot of red._

 _She pulled the boy up and led him to a sink, where she had him run water over the spot. She then wrapped a small bandage around the digit before looking him in the eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Dear, you know not to touch the sewing box"._

 _Lotor hung his head. "Sorry, Maria" he mumbled out._

 _"_ _Just remember this for the future, okay?"_

 _The boy simply answered with a nod of his head._

 _"_ _What were you trying to get, anyways?" Maria asked, cocking up an eyebrow with a slight smile._

 _"_ _A button. The yellow one" Lotor answered, perking up a bit._

 _Maria peeked into the box. "That one?" she asked._

 _"_ _Mhm"_

 _"_ _Do you still want it?". She laughed at the excited nods the boy responded with. Maria retrieved the button. Then she got some string from the bottom of the box. "Here. Now you won't lose it" she said, slipping the button on and finishing with a firm knot connecting the two string ends._

 _Lotor beamed as the nursemaid put the homemade necklace on him._

 _His fist clenched around the necklace, which he then swiftly slid over his head and hid beneath his shirt._

 _Lotor grabbed a few other things, such as smaller weapons and a few strange-looking devices, before heading out. The window would be the best option. No one to ask him what he was doing._

 _Lotor had retreated deep in the woods, where he set up camp for the night. It was still evening though, so he decided to get a head-start on his planned work. He grasped a small radio-wave-interceptor he brought from home and stood up, hoping to pick up on some information. About the notice of his disappearance, for example, but he also wouldn't mind getting some information on the war._

 _Sure, he ran-away, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about the fate of his own kingdom. If need be, he would come back._

 _He actually hadn't thought too much about his whole escapade, which was surprising because he usually had a well-thought-out plan for everything. He cringed a bit, thinking that everyone back home would think he was being a dumb, overreacting teenager, which he guessed wasn't completely false…_

 _The radio picked up on something, but it was too fuzzy for him to decipher the words. He started moving to higher ground._

 _He thought he could hear someone talking, but it was rather faint. The signal must have been too weak._

 _"_ _Come on, guys!" sounded the voice, a lot louder and clearer than before._

 _Lotor was starting to think it wasn't coming from the radio._

 _Before he could make himself sparse, a large-framed female almost ran into him. Definitely fast for her size. The two both stood gaping at each other, only a meter apart._

 _"_ _Zethrid, slow down!" said someone behind her. The voice seemed to bring the girl to her senses, and she caught the prince by surprise as she charged and threw a heavy punch. Lotor's reflexes kicked in, and her intimidating fist barely missed him. She continued to throw punches while Lotor continued to dodge._

 _A smaller figure with almost pixie-like features appeared from the trees. "Zethrid, who is this?!" she yelled, yet unhesitatingly joining in the fight. This girl moved with excellent speed that Lotor struggled to keep up with._

 _Lotor saw another figure slip out of the densely packed trees, again, seemingly coming out of thin air. This one wore a hood and had a cat perched on her shoulder. Unlike the other two, she slowly stalked around the scene before trying anything._

 _Another seemed to appear out of nowhere. Not even as in coming into sight but literally just seeming to appear behind him. This one tried to hit him on a pressure point, but Lotor blocked the hit and skillfully jumped back from the three._

 _The fourth one fought with great precision. Honestly, they all seemed to be worthy opponents. Lotor was beginning to think they might actually win this fight._

 _"_ _Give me space" the fourth one commanded, pulling out a spear to fight him. The others, without weapons, followed her orders but made sure to circle around so that Lotor wouldn't be able to escape. The prince swiftly pulled out his dagger. They circled around for a bit, trying for shots a few times. She had the advantage with a longer-range weapon, but he was a highly trained warrior. When she swung, Lotor was able to knock the spear out of her hands. Using her shock against her, he twisted them around so that he held the knife to her throat._

 _The hotheaded one- Zethrid? He thought that's what they called- started for Lotor, but he responded by pressing the knife a bit closer to spear girl's neck. "I wouldn't do that if I were you"._

 _Hothead growled lowly and was pulled back by the pixie swiftly, who spoke up. "Who are you, and what do you want?"_

 _Lotor's eyes grew wide in surprise. He'd almost forgotten that he was no longer in the heart of Galra. His existence was generally unknown to those outside. It was better that way, he guessed. "I think that's something I should be asking you" he said._

 _Pixie spoke again. "Excuse me?! YOU attacked US!"_

 _Lotor's eyebrow raised in slight amusement. He looked at Hothead and snorted. "I wouldn't be too sure of that"_

 _Pixie looked confused, but it was not she who spoke next. Spear had finally caught her breath. Lotor felt her straighten up a bit. "Zethrid?" she questioned sternly._

 _The Zethrid chick furrowed her eyebrows and expressively waved her hands around. "He was near our camp! He's probably a spy!"_

 _"_ _Why on Earth would I want to spy on you?" Lotor said._

 _"_ _Can it!" Hothead snapped. She glowered at him. "Then what were you doing?"_

 _"_ _Trying to get a radio signal" Lotor said in an unamused tone. Good Lord, what was with these people?!_

 _"…_ _Oh, uh, sorry then" Pixie said._

 _Hothead grunted in acknowledgement. "Fine. We're not going to do anything to you. So let her go"_

 _Lotor gave a pant-like sigh and withdrew his blade, letting go of his hold on the girl, who tore away from him as soon as she could. She joined her three friends and looked him over with her arms crossed. "You out here all alone?"_

 _"_ _None of your business" he said. Lotor then scanned the four's faces. "But obviously you aren't"._

 _"_ _We never got a name" she responded, ignoring his comments._

 _"_ _Lotor. Yours?" he asked, looking at them all to indicate he wasn't just speaking to Spear._

 _Pixie answered. "I'm Ezor. That's Zethrid, Narti, and Auxia" she said, pointing out each girl._

 _'_ _Ah, Pixie: Ezor, Hothead: Zethrid, Cat Lady: Narti, and Spear: Auxia' Lotor mentally noted._

 _"_ _I'd say pleasure to meet you, but you just tried to kill me, so…" Lotor said._

Now, Lotor barely remembered how or why he teamed up with the four, but he could honestly say it was probably one of the best decisions he'd ever made.

The five had some good times; ransacking cities, stealing, just doing their own thing for a couple years. Throughout that time, somehow, he had ended up becoming the head leader of the group, replacing Auxia, though she became more of the unofficial second in command.

But then, his father called out to him for the first time since. Lotor followed the orders and came back begrudgingly.

It turned out that the king's health was at a severe low: there was always a price for using dark magic, and Zarkon had overdone it bigtime whilst the war went on.

And the Galran king's price just happened to be his physical strength.

The man was almost unable to be recognized when Lotor looked upon his corpselike body. The last two years, his own use of magic had been slowly killing him, yet it was also the only thing keeping him alive.

At least physically.

Lotor dreaded talking to him today.

There was the door. Right in front of him. The prince finally pushed aside its weight and came to a large mirror hung on an otherwise barren wall. The mirror would have looked completely normal had it not been for

There was the door. Right in front of him. The prince finally pushed aside its weight and came to a large mirror hung on an otherwise barren wall. The mirror would have looked completely normal had it not been for

There was the door. Right in front of him. The prince finally pushed aside its weight and came to a large mirror hung on an otherwise barren wall. The mirror would have looked completely normal had it not been for the eerie purple smoke coming from the glass.

Lotor walked up to it. "I am present, father".

His own reflected image into that of a dead man, who grinned wickedly back at him… "It's been a while, son"


	11. Chapter 11

I recently realized that in a previous chapter, Lance mentioned Allura… I didn't want that to happen, and I don't know how to edit this stuff, so I'd just like to put it out there that they've never met before. Please ignore this along with all the other plot holes ;)

The setting sun smudged the sky in hues of orange, being late evening by the time Lance and Hunk had arrived. Prince Takashi had given them directions to find Allura, for they were in need of her good sorcery. The boys stood at the front stoop of an old cottage, the door with peeling paint and the hinges rusted. The entirety of the home generally looked worn down. Even the lawn was grown up and vines climbed up to the roof. It was kind of spooky and seemed barren.

Lance gave Hunk a 'it's now or never' look before lifting his knuckles to the door, but before he could even knock, the door swung open seemingly by itself. The two boys clung to each other and screamed, though Lance's screech was both louder and higher-pitched.

"WHAT THE… um?" Lance exclaimed before spotting three little mice at his feet. The small creatures were oddly humanlike; they stood on their hind legs, and one beckoned them inside with a wave of his little arm. Hunk and Lance shared a shrug and followed them.

They were shocked to find that the inside of the house in no way reflected its exterior. The rooms they were led through were rather large, classy, and well-tended. The rodents eventually led them to another door, which Lance silently cracked open. A great smell wafted through the air. Hunk's stomach gurgled, and Lance's mouth was watering.

"The holiest of foods…" Lance whispered, in awe. He shared a look with Hunk before they both squealed like little kids "Mac 'n' cheese!"

A yelp and small ping made by a dropped spoon (followed by a grumbled "quiznak") sounded from the room inside. The same voice sighed as though exasperated. "Come in".

Forgetting their fear, the two quickly whipped open the door and relished the smell of cooking food, which was even stronger now that they were in the same room, which appeared to be a simple kitchen, much less decorated than the other rooms they saw. The mice and woman shook their heads at the boys' actions. But seriously, cut 'em some slack- all they'd had to eat for a while was green goop.

"I assume you boys would like some?" the woman said with a raised eyebrow and small amused smile.

The two excitedly nodded, and the woman dished out some macaroni in bowls for them. The mice scrambled up on the table and indicated to the boys that they wanted them to sit. Hunk and Lance quickly shoveled food into their mouths (With the mess Lance made, it was questionable whether he was even aiming for his mouth). The woman soon joined them. "I was expecting you" she said casually.

Lance and Hunk choked a bit on their food. "No offense, but that's really creepy!" Lance said with his mouth full. Hunk elbowed him in the ribs.

Fortunately, Lance's words had an unexpected effect on the woman. She began to laugh. "Don't worry, I just tell people that to scare them. Speaking of, what brings you here?"

Lance slapped on a cheesy smile "Other than stealing your heart?" he said. To this, Allura gave him a 'seriously?' look, and Lance was yet again awarded an elbow to the side.

"I apologize for his behavior. He was dropped on his head a few times as a baby" Hunk ignored a pouty protest from Lance and continued "We're hoping you can help us. We were sent to you by Prince Takashi, Ms. Allura. He says you're a very competent sorceress. Our friend Katie is in danger, and you may be our only hope of finding her".

Allura's facial expression became more serious as Hunk continued to explain the whole situation. "Well," she began, "That's quite the predicament. I should be able to locate the girl… Katie, is it?". The boys nodded, looking up at her hopefully. "I'll need your help. Since I have never met her, I don't know the particular essence of being that I need to connect with. But you do. Stand", she said, already on her feet.

The boys seemed a bit confused, but did as they were told. "If we're lucky, we may be able to contact her as well, but it depends on the person's mindset, so don't get your hopes up. Let me see a hand from each of you". Hunk and Lance followed through with the request, though still a bit puzzled. They really had no clue what she meant by a lot of the things she said about magic, but they needed to trust her if they wanted to save their friend. Allura took each outstretched hand and moved them so that her own touched both, the palms forming a triangle, leaving space in between. "Now, I want you to focus. Think of Katie". Hunk and Lance did so, closing their eyes in concentration.

The two opened their eyes when they felt a tingling sensation on their palms to see a ball of light now taking up the space between the three hands. Allura then closed her eyes. The ball grew larger until it took on the shape of a large, oval mirror. By this time, Hunk and Lance had withdrawn their hands as Allura did with her own. Her eyes were now open, looking at it intently. At first sight, it looked like any old thing- displaying only reflections, but the parallel world before their eyes began to fade, and wasvreplaced by another image all together.

They could see Katie… and her father and Matt.

'She really did find them' Hunk thought, a sad smile adorning his face.

The petite girl's cheeks were stained with tears. Her father was crying too. Matt's face was buried in Katie's hair, but by the shaking of his shoulders, they could tell he was also sobbing.

Katie was being tightly held by her family members, in between the two. The three were silent and desperately latched onto one another like they were afraid their loved ones could slip from their fingers and be swept away with the wind at any moment.

"The Galran palace" Allura said solemnly.

"… did you say we might be able to talk to her?" Lance asked weakly.

Allura nodded. "If you wish to try, just address her. Direct your words to her. And there is a time limit from such a distance, though I'm afraid I know not how long".

Lance hesitated, gathering his bearings before shakily calling for his friend. "Katie?"

At this, the girl furrowed her eyebrows. That was strange. She didn't exactly hear it. More like the words were in her head. Maybe her imagination?

Allura now addressed her "This is all real. Do not fear the unknown. I am Allura. Your two friends came to me in hope that my magic could help you. You are in the Galran palace right now. We can hear the thoughts you send our way, and you can hear us speak, no one else can… I'm sure you'd like to talk to your friends now"

"Katie, are you okay?! Are you hurt?!" Hunk asked quickly, freaking out like a mama bear.

'I'm okay, Hunk… just a bit shaken. I found Matt and Dad' at this, Katie impossibly tightened her embrace of the two. 'They told me they were kidnapped to be used for the Galra's own purposes. And in a way, I guess I was too…' Katie mentally sighed

Her image wavered.

"… do you know what they want from you, Katie?" Lance said, his voice cracking a bit.

'I-' Katie was cut off. Her features morphed into a reflection of their own faces staring back at them.

"It's been a while, son" the Galran king said, looking him up and down, unimpressed.

Lotor curtly nodded, his fists balled up at his sides.

The older hummed knowingly. "Not too chatty today, are we? I'll save you the time and get to the point: the war with the Kingdom of Altea is leaning in our favor. We've won many battles. We have fine armies. But there's just one thing really keeping its power from the Galra's reach: the prince, first heir to the throne. The king has fallen deathly ill, thanks to our planning… But I'm afraid we've underestimated the boy. The people have so much faith in him. But take him out of the picture, and we'll be so much closer"

"And what do I have to do with this?"

"Not so much you… just _something_ you have" the king continued. "And this something may just have the power to destroy him"


End file.
